Today’s Gospel (Mt 8:23-27) is a fitting one to end on here with the St Andrew’s blog site (which will continue via my GW posts). It is all about faith which is the obvious theme of so many Gospel passages. But, the story of the Apostles in the boat with our Lord amid “a violent storm” is especially pertinent to many of us bloggers. The Lord immediately calms the storm when the Apostles turn to him in faith. Their faith is not perfect; Christ sort of blasts them for having “little faith”. But, they do show faith in him in the midst of stress and suffering and they are rewarded for their confidence in his power.
So many bloggers have posted their insightful reflections about faith here the past three years. Some have written with big faith, others with little faith. Some have a mature faith that will ride out the storms with God no matter what; others have struggled to stay in the boat (the Church) because God won’t show His power in calming their storms immediately. But, folks, here’s the thing: it’s all faith in Christ. If you’re reading this post, then you have faith. If you’ve posted on here before, then you have faith. Even if it’s little faith, it is still very powerful, as the Gospel story teaches us. If you feel like your faith is little or immature, please stay in the boat and continue to turn to our Lord amid the storms of your life with confidence. He may not calm your storms immediately, but I promise that eventually He will give you “great calm”. I promise He will give you peace eventually. God is peace. He cannot not give you peace if you turn to Him.
As Catholics, we put our faith in many things: Christ, Scripture, Tradition, the Magisterium, the priesthood, the sacraments, etc. I have been so humbled and inspired by the faith of our parishioners and bloggers. Thanks be to God, faith in Him has grown here so much in so many ways: in the Eucharist, in the Church, in Confession, in prayer, in Scripture, in the intercession of the Blessed Mother and the saints, in the priesthood, etc. Along with Fr. Mike, I am particularly grateful for the faith that you have shown in the priesthood of Jesus Christ through us.
The past few days and weeks have been a little bit different for me. It’s been all good (!), but different. I became a priest in order to be Christ in the boat…to bring his power and grace to people amid the storms of their lives. It has been absolutely awesome to be Christ to them at such pivotal moments! So many times, they barely even knew me, and yet came to me like they would come to Christ: with faith and seeking help. It was really between them and the Lord; I was just a vessel of His Grace. I understand why people thank their priests and it’s great that they do, but, as a priest, I am here to serve as alter Christus (another Christ), not to be thanked. In fact, I am the one who should be thanking them and God for allowing me to be a part of the whole amazing situation. It’s an indescribable honor and gift to be another Christ in the boat, calming the storms of people’s lives through His Power.
While today’s title says goodbye, this is not goodbye. I will be back to visit on occasion and will see many of you at future DC ‘Hood games. Also, we will see each other in prayer. Please pray for me and all priests, that we will be faithful. I will pray for you every day – many of you by name. I hope that you will continue to grow in your faith in Christ as a parish centered on the Eucharist and living the Gospel of Love. May God continue to bless you abundantly. Thank you, St Andrew’s!! I love you all.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
13th Sunday - homily
A couple of years ago, we had Confirmation with Bishop Holley on a Sunday night – right in the middle of a Redskins-Cowboys game! I walked into Church a little before Mass and saw a group of people who had little TVs and radios. I probably should have said, “can you please put those away? We are in church”. I didn’t. Actually, I said, “can you all give me some kind of sign when the Redskins score?”
This was one of my favorite moments during my time at St Andrew’s. Someone asked me to give a top ten list of my favorite moments, so I’ve spent the past several days thinking about all the great moments that I’ve had here, thanks be to God. It’s not a perfect list and it was tough to pick just ten, but here they are:
At a graduation party a couple years ago, there was a swimming pool. I was having fun with kids in the pool and kids around the pool…you know, pushing them in and all. One of our teens wasn’t very happy at all when I pushed her in fully clothed. She got her revenge a month later when she and her friends put a few hundred post-it notes on my car!
One of my favorite groups in the parish has been RCIA. Some of my happiest moments here have been seeing the adults who I had prepared to become Catholic get baptized, confirmed, and receive the Eucharist for the first time. Like a proud parent, I was absolutely beaming when these great people “joined the club”.
At our Penance Service a few years ago, we had over 100 people come for confession. It was our biggest turnout in my time here. There were several of us priests hearing confessions for over an hour, and they were really good confessions – some people coming back to the sacrament after being away for many years. What an awesome moment for us priests to be a part of!
We’ve had a lot of great Masses here the past three years. One of my favorite moments at Mass happened at my first Christmas Eve Mass with the children. I had the kids come up to the sanctuary for the homily. I asked them to return to their pews at the end of the homily. One little three-year-old boy wanted to stay in the sanctuary and sit in one of the big chairs. I said ok, just not in the big chair – that’s mine. I kept the mic on and talked to him. “What’s your name?”, I said. “AJ”. “Hi, AJ”. As we talked, AJ’s mother came forward and told him to come with her. “No”, he cried. His mom grabbed him and he went back to his seat, kicking and screaming. “Bye, AJ”, I said. I commented later that he would probably be “Fr AJ” someday because he actually wanted to sit in the sanctuary!
There have been so many fun moments with our kids here, especially our school kids. My favorite moment was this year when I taught them at a Mass what to say and do whenever I said the word, Heaven: “it’s all good”! We had a lot of fun with that. I would see them in the hallways or wherever, and say something like, “what’s it like in Heaven?” “It’s all good!”
I am so grateful for the huge support that St Andrew’s has given DC ‘Hood the past three years. It really has been amazing to see you help our ministry in so many ways. My favorite DC ‘Hood moment was this past year at Verizon Center when our junior high choir sang the national anthem before the Wizards game. They did a phenomenal job! I was cheering louder for our kids than for the Wizards!
We have Eucharistic Adoration here on Friday nights for an hour. These have been some of my favorite nights – it’s an awesome hour in the presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. My favorite nights of Adoration were when our school kids came – a few classes came as a group (3rd and 5th graders, for example) and stayed almost the whole time. They took it very seriously – knelt, blessed themselves, prayed hard, etc. One of the girls said afterward, “it was inspiring”. What an awesome moment for a priest – to be a part of kids coming into the presence of Jesus.
There were so many extraordinary moments with our youth – too many to list. With our young adults, my favorite moment was last year when they initiated the largest blood drive St. Andrew’s has ever had. My favorite moment with our Youth Group was at our Lock-In a few years ago. We stayed up all night having fun and talking. Then, at 6 am, we had a few moments of Adoration and Benediction. There were about 20 of our teens on their knees at 6 in the morning worshipping God. The problem was that some of the parents were outside, trying to get in to prepare breakfast. They were locked out and it was about 20 degrees outside. I apologized to them later, but one of the parents said, “hey, if you can get our kids worshipping God at 6 in the morning, we don’t mind being locked out”. My favorite moment with our Junior Youth Group was at the end of or trivia game when we put pies in the faces of those who got wrong answers…then I got a pie in the face (more like, a pie in the ear)!
We just heard in the Gospel about Jesus’ healing of the woman with the hemorrhage. Through the gift of his ordination, every priest of Jesus Christ has his healing power. My favorite moment in healing came a couple years ago when a woman came to me who had been suffering from a tumor and intense pain for many years. I prayed over her, laid my hands upon her, and showered her with miraculous water from Lourdes, France. The following week, doctors told her that the tumor was gone. And, she was in significantly less pain. She experience not only physical healing, but also personal and spiritual healing, thanks to the power of God.
A couple of summers ago, we hosted a Catholic festival, “Fun in the Son”. It was a good day of faith and fun. The best part was the turnout of volunteers from our parish – dozens and dozens of people helping out. I was not surprised because people here are very generous. You are very generous to God and to each other.
Finally, my favorite moment of all has occurred each time we have come here for Mass: in the Eucharist. What happens at the altar when I take bread and wine and say the words of consecration is beyond words. What an incredible moment for me or any priest to make Jesus present through my hands. Then, the greatest moment in our lives – Holy Communion, where we become one with God. This moment defines who I am and what I’ve been about the past three years here: about bringing us all into union with Christ.
My hope is that you have had an experience of Jesus Christ through me – an experience of his love, his mercy, his kindness, his fun, his humor, his enthusiasm, etc. When he made this year the “year of the priest”, Pope Benedict reminded us that the priest is “alter Christus” (another Christ). If I have not been another Christ here, if all this has been just an experience with Fr Greg Shaffer, then I have failed. My hope is that you have had an experience with Jesus Christ. My hope is that you have had an experience with the Kingdom of Heaven… where it is all good!
This was one of my favorite moments during my time at St Andrew’s. Someone asked me to give a top ten list of my favorite moments, so I’ve spent the past several days thinking about all the great moments that I’ve had here, thanks be to God. It’s not a perfect list and it was tough to pick just ten, but here they are:
At a graduation party a couple years ago, there was a swimming pool. I was having fun with kids in the pool and kids around the pool…you know, pushing them in and all. One of our teens wasn’t very happy at all when I pushed her in fully clothed. She got her revenge a month later when she and her friends put a few hundred post-it notes on my car!
One of my favorite groups in the parish has been RCIA. Some of my happiest moments here have been seeing the adults who I had prepared to become Catholic get baptized, confirmed, and receive the Eucharist for the first time. Like a proud parent, I was absolutely beaming when these great people “joined the club”.
At our Penance Service a few years ago, we had over 100 people come for confession. It was our biggest turnout in my time here. There were several of us priests hearing confessions for over an hour, and they were really good confessions – some people coming back to the sacrament after being away for many years. What an awesome moment for us priests to be a part of!
We’ve had a lot of great Masses here the past three years. One of my favorite moments at Mass happened at my first Christmas Eve Mass with the children. I had the kids come up to the sanctuary for the homily. I asked them to return to their pews at the end of the homily. One little three-year-old boy wanted to stay in the sanctuary and sit in one of the big chairs. I said ok, just not in the big chair – that’s mine. I kept the mic on and talked to him. “What’s your name?”, I said. “AJ”. “Hi, AJ”. As we talked, AJ’s mother came forward and told him to come with her. “No”, he cried. His mom grabbed him and he went back to his seat, kicking and screaming. “Bye, AJ”, I said. I commented later that he would probably be “Fr AJ” someday because he actually wanted to sit in the sanctuary!
There have been so many fun moments with our kids here, especially our school kids. My favorite moment was this year when I taught them at a Mass what to say and do whenever I said the word, Heaven: “it’s all good”! We had a lot of fun with that. I would see them in the hallways or wherever, and say something like, “what’s it like in Heaven?” “It’s all good!”
I am so grateful for the huge support that St Andrew’s has given DC ‘Hood the past three years. It really has been amazing to see you help our ministry in so many ways. My favorite DC ‘Hood moment was this past year at Verizon Center when our junior high choir sang the national anthem before the Wizards game. They did a phenomenal job! I was cheering louder for our kids than for the Wizards!
We have Eucharistic Adoration here on Friday nights for an hour. These have been some of my favorite nights – it’s an awesome hour in the presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. My favorite nights of Adoration were when our school kids came – a few classes came as a group (3rd and 5th graders, for example) and stayed almost the whole time. They took it very seriously – knelt, blessed themselves, prayed hard, etc. One of the girls said afterward, “it was inspiring”. What an awesome moment for a priest – to be a part of kids coming into the presence of Jesus.
There were so many extraordinary moments with our youth – too many to list. With our young adults, my favorite moment was last year when they initiated the largest blood drive St. Andrew’s has ever had. My favorite moment with our Youth Group was at our Lock-In a few years ago. We stayed up all night having fun and talking. Then, at 6 am, we had a few moments of Adoration and Benediction. There were about 20 of our teens on their knees at 6 in the morning worshipping God. The problem was that some of the parents were outside, trying to get in to prepare breakfast. They were locked out and it was about 20 degrees outside. I apologized to them later, but one of the parents said, “hey, if you can get our kids worshipping God at 6 in the morning, we don’t mind being locked out”. My favorite moment with our Junior Youth Group was at the end of or trivia game when we put pies in the faces of those who got wrong answers…then I got a pie in the face (more like, a pie in the ear)!
We just heard in the Gospel about Jesus’ healing of the woman with the hemorrhage. Through the gift of his ordination, every priest of Jesus Christ has his healing power. My favorite moment in healing came a couple years ago when a woman came to me who had been suffering from a tumor and intense pain for many years. I prayed over her, laid my hands upon her, and showered her with miraculous water from Lourdes, France. The following week, doctors told her that the tumor was gone. And, she was in significantly less pain. She experience not only physical healing, but also personal and spiritual healing, thanks to the power of God.
A couple of summers ago, we hosted a Catholic festival, “Fun in the Son”. It was a good day of faith and fun. The best part was the turnout of volunteers from our parish – dozens and dozens of people helping out. I was not surprised because people here are very generous. You are very generous to God and to each other.
Finally, my favorite moment of all has occurred each time we have come here for Mass: in the Eucharist. What happens at the altar when I take bread and wine and say the words of consecration is beyond words. What an incredible moment for me or any priest to make Jesus present through my hands. Then, the greatest moment in our lives – Holy Communion, where we become one with God. This moment defines who I am and what I’ve been about the past three years here: about bringing us all into union with Christ.
My hope is that you have had an experience of Jesus Christ through me – an experience of his love, his mercy, his kindness, his fun, his humor, his enthusiasm, etc. When he made this year the “year of the priest”, Pope Benedict reminded us that the priest is “alter Christus” (another Christ). If I have not been another Christ here, if all this has been just an experience with Fr Greg Shaffer, then I have failed. My hope is that you have had an experience with Jesus Christ. My hope is that you have had an experience with the Kingdom of Heaven… where it is all good!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
12th Sunday - homily
We congratulate our seminarian, Mel Ayala, on his ordination to the transitional diaconate last weekend. Please pray for him as he continues to prepare for priesthood ordination next June. Here is his insightful homily for this Sunday:
Last week we returned to the season of Ordinary Time. In the next few weeks we will again hear and read the parables, miracles and teaching of Jesus and the events that surround his ministry.
In the Gospel according to Mark, Jesus loves to tell stories, and we read of the calming of the sea in today’s gospel. I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like to be in a small boat in the middle of a body of water when a ferocious storm comes up (I was a bit tense this morning when a line of thunderstorms passed through the Washington area…and I wasn’t in a boat but inside a basilica!). Two summers ago, when I was in southern Maryland, I met a few experienced fishermen who explained the dangers of being in turbulent waters. The disciples of Jesus, I’m sure, were aware of the dangers they were facing. And amidst the storm, when the boat was being tossed and turned, they couldn’t understand how Jesus slept through the torrential weather.
We come to understand and are aware that Jesus is able to handle all kinds of chaotic situations. After all, the Father has sent Jesus to restore creation by fighting the powers of darkness, sin, and evil. He heals the sick and confronts demons. Sounds like a modern-day superhero!
In our own daily lives, we experience joy-filled and peaceful moments with our families and friends. But we are also challenged by those chaotic moments in our lives, such as physical or mental illness and those situations that cause fear and uncertainty. I am often amazed when the tranquil sea of my life can change into violent waters of fear and hopelessness.
As modern disciples of Christ we know that we can pray to Jesus and have confidence that the rough, choppy waters of our lives can again become gentle, calm, and serene. Jesus reminds us of faith, for he asks his disciples: “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”
One of my favorite hymns is The Navy Hymn. The melody is peaceful and its lyrics, reassuring. In the first verse, we sing, “Eternal Father, strong to save, whose arm has bound the restless wave, who bids the mighty ocean deep its own appointed limits keep: O hear us when we raise our plea for those in peril on the sea.” Sometimes this hymn is a reminder to me that in the chaos of possibilities, in the chaos of life, and in the chaos of the moment, we cry to the Lord, “Why? Why me? Why now?” And it is during these moments when we rely on our faith – the faith we have in God, his mercy and his Church. Underneath this faith is our confidence and trust in the Lord and, God’s love for us.
In the turbulent times of our life, you and I know that we need to turn to God, totally and completely, not half-way, not partially, but totally. In difficult times, I sometimes turn to St. Basil of Caesarea who prays, “Steer the ship of my life, Lord, to your quiet harbor, where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict. Show me the course I should take. Renew in me the gift of discernment, so that I can see the right direction in which I should go. And give me the strength and the courage to choose the right course, even when the sea is rough and the waves are high, knowing that through enduring hardship and danger in your name we shall find comfort and peace.”
As we enter the season of Ordinary Time – a time of summer vacations, weddings, family get-togethers – I pray that this season may be an extraordinary one – extraordinary in such a way that you can rediscover and renew your faith in God who always loves you.
Last week we returned to the season of Ordinary Time. In the next few weeks we will again hear and read the parables, miracles and teaching of Jesus and the events that surround his ministry.
In the Gospel according to Mark, Jesus loves to tell stories, and we read of the calming of the sea in today’s gospel. I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like to be in a small boat in the middle of a body of water when a ferocious storm comes up (I was a bit tense this morning when a line of thunderstorms passed through the Washington area…and I wasn’t in a boat but inside a basilica!). Two summers ago, when I was in southern Maryland, I met a few experienced fishermen who explained the dangers of being in turbulent waters. The disciples of Jesus, I’m sure, were aware of the dangers they were facing. And amidst the storm, when the boat was being tossed and turned, they couldn’t understand how Jesus slept through the torrential weather.
We come to understand and are aware that Jesus is able to handle all kinds of chaotic situations. After all, the Father has sent Jesus to restore creation by fighting the powers of darkness, sin, and evil. He heals the sick and confronts demons. Sounds like a modern-day superhero!
In our own daily lives, we experience joy-filled and peaceful moments with our families and friends. But we are also challenged by those chaotic moments in our lives, such as physical or mental illness and those situations that cause fear and uncertainty. I am often amazed when the tranquil sea of my life can change into violent waters of fear and hopelessness.
As modern disciples of Christ we know that we can pray to Jesus and have confidence that the rough, choppy waters of our lives can again become gentle, calm, and serene. Jesus reminds us of faith, for he asks his disciples: “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?”
One of my favorite hymns is The Navy Hymn. The melody is peaceful and its lyrics, reassuring. In the first verse, we sing, “Eternal Father, strong to save, whose arm has bound the restless wave, who bids the mighty ocean deep its own appointed limits keep: O hear us when we raise our plea for those in peril on the sea.” Sometimes this hymn is a reminder to me that in the chaos of possibilities, in the chaos of life, and in the chaos of the moment, we cry to the Lord, “Why? Why me? Why now?” And it is during these moments when we rely on our faith – the faith we have in God, his mercy and his Church. Underneath this faith is our confidence and trust in the Lord and, God’s love for us.
In the turbulent times of our life, you and I know that we need to turn to God, totally and completely, not half-way, not partially, but totally. In difficult times, I sometimes turn to St. Basil of Caesarea who prays, “Steer the ship of my life, Lord, to your quiet harbor, where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict. Show me the course I should take. Renew in me the gift of discernment, so that I can see the right direction in which I should go. And give me the strength and the courage to choose the right course, even when the sea is rough and the waves are high, knowing that through enduring hardship and danger in your name we shall find comfort and peace.”
As we enter the season of Ordinary Time – a time of summer vacations, weddings, family get-togethers – I pray that this season may be an extraordinary one – extraordinary in such a way that you can rediscover and renew your faith in God who always loves you.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
1) Eucharistic Adoration, tonight, 7-8 pm, SAA Church. All are invited!!
2) Please pray for the seven men to be ordained priests tomorrow for the Archdiocese of Washington, one of whom will probably be assigned to St Andrew’s for a time.
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The following is from Butler’s “Lives of the Saints” for today’s solemn feast of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus:
The Roman Breviary tells us that this Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the result of a steady growth in man’s devotion to the love of the Redeemer. From early days, the Fathers and Doctors and Saints of the Church have celebrated the merciful love that brought Christ to earth as our saviour. They called the wound in the side of Christ the “open treasury of all graces”.
With the Middle Ages the humanity of Christ became the object of a tender piety on the part of many contemplative souls who venerated the Heart of Christ wounded with love for men. Hardly an order or religious group existed where this love did not have devoted witnesses. Then, as heresies tried to divert faith from the Eucharist, the devotion to the Sacred Heart began to be manifested publicly. St. John Eudes is considered the author of the liturgical cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
God Himself, however, established this devotion in a definite form when He appeared to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation Nun, in the latter part of the seventeenth century. Our Lord then showed her the riches and desires of His heart and complained that He received nothing but ingratitude from men. He ordered her to have established a feast in honor of His Sacred Heart on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi. In this way, the insults and injuries offered His Heart might be expiated. There were great obstacles to be overcome in carrying out the plans but finally in 1765, Pope Clement XIII approved. Then, like a mighty river sweeping to the sea the devotion grew. Pope Leo XIII dedicated the human race to the Sacred Heart, and Pope Pius XI raised the Feast to the rite of the first class, with an octave, and ordered an act of reparation to be recited in all the churches of the world.
In the private revelations made to St. Margaret Mary, Our Lord made many promises in favor of those who honored His Heart. Among these is one which has given rise to the devotion of the First Friday Communions. In favor of those who received Holy Communion on nine successive First Fridays, the Savior promises “I will be their assured refuge in their last moments.”
Reflection. – The spirit of expiation or atonement has always played a chief part in the devotion to the Sacred Heart. Let us then add to the acts of praise and satisfaction which Christ in the name of sinners has presented to God, our own acts of praise and satisfaction. In this way we can and ought to console that Most Sacred Heart, which is being wounded continually by the sins of thankless men.
2) Please pray for the seven men to be ordained priests tomorrow for the Archdiocese of Washington, one of whom will probably be assigned to St Andrew’s for a time.
-------------------------------
The following is from Butler’s “Lives of the Saints” for today’s solemn feast of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus:
The Roman Breviary tells us that this Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the result of a steady growth in man’s devotion to the love of the Redeemer. From early days, the Fathers and Doctors and Saints of the Church have celebrated the merciful love that brought Christ to earth as our saviour. They called the wound in the side of Christ the “open treasury of all graces”.
With the Middle Ages the humanity of Christ became the object of a tender piety on the part of many contemplative souls who venerated the Heart of Christ wounded with love for men. Hardly an order or religious group existed where this love did not have devoted witnesses. Then, as heresies tried to divert faith from the Eucharist, the devotion to the Sacred Heart began to be manifested publicly. St. John Eudes is considered the author of the liturgical cult of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
God Himself, however, established this devotion in a definite form when He appeared to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, a Visitation Nun, in the latter part of the seventeenth century. Our Lord then showed her the riches and desires of His heart and complained that He received nothing but ingratitude from men. He ordered her to have established a feast in honor of His Sacred Heart on the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi. In this way, the insults and injuries offered His Heart might be expiated. There were great obstacles to be overcome in carrying out the plans but finally in 1765, Pope Clement XIII approved. Then, like a mighty river sweeping to the sea the devotion grew. Pope Leo XIII dedicated the human race to the Sacred Heart, and Pope Pius XI raised the Feast to the rite of the first class, with an octave, and ordered an act of reparation to be recited in all the churches of the world.
In the private revelations made to St. Margaret Mary, Our Lord made many promises in favor of those who honored His Heart. Among these is one which has given rise to the devotion of the First Friday Communions. In favor of those who received Holy Communion on nine successive First Fridays, the Savior promises “I will be their assured refuge in their last moments.”
Reflection. – The spirit of expiation or atonement has always played a chief part in the devotion to the Sacred Heart. Let us then add to the acts of praise and satisfaction which Christ in the name of sinners has presented to God, our own acts of praise and satisfaction. In this way we can and ought to console that Most Sacred Heart, which is being wounded continually by the sins of thankless men.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
"Growth in the Christian life needs the nourishment of Eucharistic Communion"
Here are some questions from anonymous bloggers regarding the Eucharist and Holy Communion which are timely, given the fact that we just celebrated Corpus Christi two days ago:
1) “I have a question regarding the Real Presence. When someone attends a Catholic Mass who is not Catholic, they are asked to abstain from receiving the Eucharist. Is that because they may not believe that the Eucharist is really Christ or is it because they, as a non-Catholic, are not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church in a number of potentially other ways?
I ask, because, unless I am wrong, Catholics are required to receive the Eucharist (don’t know how many times) each year, right? So what if a Catholic does not believe in the Real Presence? Can they be said to be in communion with the Catholic Church and, therefore, should they ‘not receive if they don't believe’ even if they are, I believe, required to do so by the Church?”
The following are excerpts from an online conversation between a Catholic (theologian) and a non-Catholic Christian which should be helpful. To view the conversation in full, please click on today’s title.
CATHOLIC: The Church holds that to receive the Eucharist we must believe all that the Catholic Church officially teaches as coming from Christ…The Catholic Church follows ancient Christian practice on this matter. Ancient Christians believed that we cannot partake of the Eucharist unless we believe the Christian faith. You see this idea in Justin Martyr’s First Apology (1:66), which is quoted in our current Catechism in section 1355: “Because this bread and wine have been made Eucharist, we call this food Eucharist, and no one may partake in it unless he believes that what we teach is true, has received baptism for the forgiveness of sins and new birth, and lives in keeping with what Christ taught.” In other words, to receive the Eucharist you must believe that these teachings are from Christ.
OBJECTOR: You’re falling back on that old Catholic standby: tradition. Maybe Justin Martyr was just plain wrong. Anyway, I don’t see this idea in the Bible.
CATHOLIC: I think you see Jesus our Lord saying this truth in Matthew 28:20 when he said "teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you." Jesus is saying that all he taught is to be passed on. And you see Paul boasting to the leaders of the church in Ephesus that he had not "shrunk back from declaring to them the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).
So, you see, the Church has the responsibility of teaching all of the truth that Christ taught. Whether you agree or disagree with all the Church’s teachings is beside the point just now. I only want you to see that partaking in the Eucharist requires one to believe all the Church’s teachings. You said earlier that we believe the same things about the Eucharist. I am only pointing out that we don’t, because for us Catholics receiving the Eucharist means embracing all of Christ’s teachings handed down through the Church.
OBJECTOR: Well, that leaves me even more confused, because I know Catholics who receive the Eucharist every week and also say that they don’t agree with the Church’s teachings on certain points. Then are they wrong to receive Communion?
CATHOLIC: That’s a thorny problem that will take more time to explain than we have now. But in general you are following the logic behind this very well. No one—not even a baptized Catholic—should receive the Eucharist knowledgeably if he does not believe that our teachings are the teachings of Christ(*). Taking Communion is an act of love for Christ as well as actually receiving Christ into one’s heart. To do that and yet not believe Christ is clearly a contradiction between one’s act and one’s beliefs—and that’s a problem.
(*) – including transubstantiation / the teaching on the Real Presence.
2) “I also wonder about those who want to receive the Eucharist but cannot because they are, for example, divorced and remarried and are therefore excluded from that sacrament. By still attending Mass and not receiving, are they still receiving grace despite their ability to partake? Isn't their presence at Mass and their desire to receive enough? And what of those who receive regularly but do not believe in the Real Presence? How are they nourished by a grace in which they do not believe?”
Pope John Paul II addressed the situation of divorced Catholics who have remarried outside the Church in “Familiaris Consortio” (The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World”), 1981. He wrote that “they can, and indeed must, share in (the Church’s) life. They should be encouraged to listen to the word of God, to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to contribute to works of charity and to community efforts in favor of justice, to bring up their children in the Christian faith, to cultivate the spirit and practice of penance and thus implore, day by day, God’s grace” (#84). They do receive grace in all of these things, but still need, as we all do, the sacramental grace of the Eucharist: “growth in Christian life needs the nourishment of Eucharistic Communion” (CCC, # 1392). Hopefully, their desire to receive the Eucharist leads them to have their marriage validated in the Church so that they can receive.
Regarding those who knowingly and freely don’t believe but receive, it was stated above that they shouldn’t receive. If they receive, then they make an illicit communion. It is also an unfruitful communion because they have closed themselves off to the grace of the sacrament.
3) “Maybe a weird question- but are those who receive the Eucharist on a daily basis ‘more’ nourished with grace than those who only receive on the Sabbath and Holy Days?”
Yes, because they avail themselves to the grace of the sacrament more often.
1) “I have a question regarding the Real Presence. When someone attends a Catholic Mass who is not Catholic, they are asked to abstain from receiving the Eucharist. Is that because they may not believe that the Eucharist is really Christ or is it because they, as a non-Catholic, are not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church in a number of potentially other ways?
I ask, because, unless I am wrong, Catholics are required to receive the Eucharist (don’t know how many times) each year, right? So what if a Catholic does not believe in the Real Presence? Can they be said to be in communion with the Catholic Church and, therefore, should they ‘not receive if they don't believe’ even if they are, I believe, required to do so by the Church?”
The following are excerpts from an online conversation between a Catholic (theologian) and a non-Catholic Christian which should be helpful. To view the conversation in full, please click on today’s title.
CATHOLIC: The Church holds that to receive the Eucharist we must believe all that the Catholic Church officially teaches as coming from Christ…The Catholic Church follows ancient Christian practice on this matter. Ancient Christians believed that we cannot partake of the Eucharist unless we believe the Christian faith. You see this idea in Justin Martyr’s First Apology (1:66), which is quoted in our current Catechism in section 1355: “Because this bread and wine have been made Eucharist, we call this food Eucharist, and no one may partake in it unless he believes that what we teach is true, has received baptism for the forgiveness of sins and new birth, and lives in keeping with what Christ taught.” In other words, to receive the Eucharist you must believe that these teachings are from Christ.
OBJECTOR: You’re falling back on that old Catholic standby: tradition. Maybe Justin Martyr was just plain wrong. Anyway, I don’t see this idea in the Bible.
CATHOLIC: I think you see Jesus our Lord saying this truth in Matthew 28:20 when he said "teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you." Jesus is saying that all he taught is to be passed on. And you see Paul boasting to the leaders of the church in Ephesus that he had not "shrunk back from declaring to them the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).
So, you see, the Church has the responsibility of teaching all of the truth that Christ taught. Whether you agree or disagree with all the Church’s teachings is beside the point just now. I only want you to see that partaking in the Eucharist requires one to believe all the Church’s teachings. You said earlier that we believe the same things about the Eucharist. I am only pointing out that we don’t, because for us Catholics receiving the Eucharist means embracing all of Christ’s teachings handed down through the Church.
OBJECTOR: Well, that leaves me even more confused, because I know Catholics who receive the Eucharist every week and also say that they don’t agree with the Church’s teachings on certain points. Then are they wrong to receive Communion?
CATHOLIC: That’s a thorny problem that will take more time to explain than we have now. But in general you are following the logic behind this very well. No one—not even a baptized Catholic—should receive the Eucharist knowledgeably if he does not believe that our teachings are the teachings of Christ(*). Taking Communion is an act of love for Christ as well as actually receiving Christ into one’s heart. To do that and yet not believe Christ is clearly a contradiction between one’s act and one’s beliefs—and that’s a problem.
(*) – including transubstantiation / the teaching on the Real Presence.
2) “I also wonder about those who want to receive the Eucharist but cannot because they are, for example, divorced and remarried and are therefore excluded from that sacrament. By still attending Mass and not receiving, are they still receiving grace despite their ability to partake? Isn't their presence at Mass and their desire to receive enough? And what of those who receive regularly but do not believe in the Real Presence? How are they nourished by a grace in which they do not believe?”
Pope John Paul II addressed the situation of divorced Catholics who have remarried outside the Church in “Familiaris Consortio” (The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World”), 1981. He wrote that “they can, and indeed must, share in (the Church’s) life. They should be encouraged to listen to the word of God, to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to contribute to works of charity and to community efforts in favor of justice, to bring up their children in the Christian faith, to cultivate the spirit and practice of penance and thus implore, day by day, God’s grace” (#84). They do receive grace in all of these things, but still need, as we all do, the sacramental grace of the Eucharist: “growth in Christian life needs the nourishment of Eucharistic Communion” (CCC, # 1392). Hopefully, their desire to receive the Eucharist leads them to have their marriage validated in the Church so that they can receive.
Regarding those who knowingly and freely don’t believe but receive, it was stated above that they shouldn’t receive. If they receive, then they make an illicit communion. It is also an unfruitful communion because they have closed themselves off to the grace of the sacrament.
3) “Maybe a weird question- but are those who receive the Eucharist on a daily basis ‘more’ nourished with grace than those who only receive on the Sabbath and Holy Days?”
Yes, because they avail themselves to the grace of the sacrament more often.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ - homily
One of the best experiences I’ve had here has been the Great Adventure Bible Study. This is the 24 week series that began in Lent and will resume in the Fall. It’s been amazing to see the response – we’ve had over 50 people participate in it – and the commitment. People have come out every Monday night for two hours, and this is after they’ve done at least two hours of reading during the week. We have all really enjoyed the series and gotten so much out of it. The most common reaction I’ve heard is that people are surprised to see so many connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament. There are so many connections! It’s been so eye-opening for people as they’re closely studying a book or story from the Old Testament and then realize that it all sounds so familiar – like it’s speaking about Jesus or a story out of the Gospel.
Every Sunday we hear connections between the Old and New Testaments. The Church has organized the readings – particularly the first reading and the Gospel – so we would make the connection. This Sunday it is pretty easy to make the connection – to figure out what at least one of the themes is: blood of the covenant. As a society, we don’t do too well with blood. On the one hand, we are hyper-sensitive to blood. We can’t stand the sight of blood and don’t like to hear about it. If we get a little cut on our hand, we say, “ah! I’m bleeding”. But, on the other hand, we are going more and more to movies that show a lot of blood. Hollywood producers have seized on this, and thus, there are so many more violent movies now.
If we were listening to the first reading (Exodus 24), then we heard some things that sound familiar. It involves a priest at an altar who is offering a sacrifice of blood in making a covenant. Moses offers a sacrifice to God on an altar on behalf of the people. God enters into covenant with his people through blood. Blood seals the covenant. This is the blood of the old covenant. The people are sprinkled with blood and their bodies are cleansed. This covenant leads to the New Covenant. It is external and symbolic only, symbolic of the Eucharist.
When we come to Mass, we witness and experience the same things. There is a priest who offers a sacrifice of blood on an altar in making a covenant. But, this sacrifice does not involve the blood of animals; it is the blood of Christ! It is the blood of the new covenant which fulfills the old covenant. It is an eternal sacrifice that is not merely external; it is internal. It cleanses our souls and our consciences, as the second reading tells us. How much more efficacious is the blood of Christ to that of the blood of animals! The Eucharist brings great healing to our souls in bringing us in union with Almighty God and his peace. St Thomas Aquinas said that “no other sacrament has greater healing power” than the Eucharist.
On a side note, I noticed another connection between the Old and New Testaments in the Bible Study. There are many instances in the Old Testament of people “grumbling” about food, especially in Exodus 15. The people are in the desert, complaining that they don’t have any food. Then, God sends down bread from Heaven – this is the manna which is a definite preview of the Eucharist. Then, when Jesus talked about food, the people grumbled again. In John 6, when Jesus taught about the Eucharist, the people grumbled. So, we see continuity throughout the Bible, not just with how God acts toward us, but also with how we have acted toward Him. I heard some grumbling here in the first few months, mainly about the announcement I make before Holy Communion: “let all faithful Catholics come receive our Lord”. I understand the grumbling – this was new for people to hear. I hope you know by now why I say it: I don’t want anyone receiving unworthily. St Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11 that anyone who eats the flesh or drinks the blood of the Lord unworthily brings judgement on himself; he is responsible for the blood of Christ. I don’t want anyone who isn’t Catholic or is a Catholic not in a state of grace to do that. It is out of love for you that I do it.
Finally, it is my great hope that all of us here are Eucharistic people with our lives. This means that we don’t just come here on Sundays and worship and received the Eucharist. It means to make the Eucharist the center of our lives. Everything starts here with Christ and goes out from here. He gave his life for us; let us give our lives to him. As we hear the words of consecration (the words of institution), “this is my body…this is my blood” today, as we hear him give us his life, let us say those same words to him. Through the grace of the Eucharist, may each of say these words to God in our lives: ‘this is my body…this is my blood…which is given up for you’.
Every Sunday we hear connections between the Old and New Testaments. The Church has organized the readings – particularly the first reading and the Gospel – so we would make the connection. This Sunday it is pretty easy to make the connection – to figure out what at least one of the themes is: blood of the covenant. As a society, we don’t do too well with blood. On the one hand, we are hyper-sensitive to blood. We can’t stand the sight of blood and don’t like to hear about it. If we get a little cut on our hand, we say, “ah! I’m bleeding”. But, on the other hand, we are going more and more to movies that show a lot of blood. Hollywood producers have seized on this, and thus, there are so many more violent movies now.
If we were listening to the first reading (Exodus 24), then we heard some things that sound familiar. It involves a priest at an altar who is offering a sacrifice of blood in making a covenant. Moses offers a sacrifice to God on an altar on behalf of the people. God enters into covenant with his people through blood. Blood seals the covenant. This is the blood of the old covenant. The people are sprinkled with blood and their bodies are cleansed. This covenant leads to the New Covenant. It is external and symbolic only, symbolic of the Eucharist.
When we come to Mass, we witness and experience the same things. There is a priest who offers a sacrifice of blood on an altar in making a covenant. But, this sacrifice does not involve the blood of animals; it is the blood of Christ! It is the blood of the new covenant which fulfills the old covenant. It is an eternal sacrifice that is not merely external; it is internal. It cleanses our souls and our consciences, as the second reading tells us. How much more efficacious is the blood of Christ to that of the blood of animals! The Eucharist brings great healing to our souls in bringing us in union with Almighty God and his peace. St Thomas Aquinas said that “no other sacrament has greater healing power” than the Eucharist.
On a side note, I noticed another connection between the Old and New Testaments in the Bible Study. There are many instances in the Old Testament of people “grumbling” about food, especially in Exodus 15. The people are in the desert, complaining that they don’t have any food. Then, God sends down bread from Heaven – this is the manna which is a definite preview of the Eucharist. Then, when Jesus talked about food, the people grumbled again. In John 6, when Jesus taught about the Eucharist, the people grumbled. So, we see continuity throughout the Bible, not just with how God acts toward us, but also with how we have acted toward Him. I heard some grumbling here in the first few months, mainly about the announcement I make before Holy Communion: “let all faithful Catholics come receive our Lord”. I understand the grumbling – this was new for people to hear. I hope you know by now why I say it: I don’t want anyone receiving unworthily. St Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11 that anyone who eats the flesh or drinks the blood of the Lord unworthily brings judgement on himself; he is responsible for the blood of Christ. I don’t want anyone who isn’t Catholic or is a Catholic not in a state of grace to do that. It is out of love for you that I do it.
Finally, it is my great hope that all of us here are Eucharistic people with our lives. This means that we don’t just come here on Sundays and worship and received the Eucharist. It means to make the Eucharist the center of our lives. Everything starts here with Christ and goes out from here. He gave his life for us; let us give our lives to him. As we hear the words of consecration (the words of institution), “this is my body…this is my blood” today, as we hear him give us his life, let us say those same words to him. Through the grace of the Eucharist, may each of say these words to God in our lives: ‘this is my body…this is my blood…which is given up for you’.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Special graces and favors
Eucharistic Adoration, tonight, 7-8 pm, SAA Church. Please join us!!
Anon posted the following: “I have a question that will probably sound stupid to many- but what is the purpose of novena? How is it different to any other form of prayer?”
This is a good definition from ewtn.com: “A novena is a nine-day period of private or public prayer to obtain special graces, to implore special favors, or to make special petitions. (Novena is derived from the Latin "novem", meaning nine.) As the definition suggests, the novena has always had more of a sense of urgency and neediness.” Ewtn also provides examples of novenas on its site; please click on today’s title to view the site.
After Adoration tonight, I will celebrate Mass in the home of the family of a parishioner who died last Thursday. The family has been praying a novena since then and asked for a Mass as a great way to finish the novena. I don’t know what kind of novena they have been praying and if they have been doing it individually each day or together, but what a beautiful offering for the repose of the soul of their loved one.
The parish offers at least a few novenas during the year. We pray the Miraculous Medal Novena on Mondays after the 8:30 am Mass. From Good Friday to Divine Mercy Sunday we have offered the Divine Mercy Novena. On this site, we prayed a novena for the election last year; you can go to October ‘08 and November ’08 in the “Archives” section to see it. I have known of many people praying novenas before and after major events in their lives or in the lives of family or friends (weddings, ordinations, job interviews, funerals, etc.). Something special often happens when specific intentions are presented in specific ways to the Kingdom of God over a period of time. As the definition indicated, this is usually in the form of special graces.
For example, someone might pray a novena to St Joseph for the sale of their home; he is the patron saint of home life (and home selling). The below example of a novena to St Joseph includes naming the petition which can be anything, of course. But, it’s most efficacious to take specific intentions to those who have abundant graces in those areas. St Joseph is also the patron saint of a happy death. The coolest example I’ve heard of with this was Fr. Bill Finch: he died after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday at the statue of St Joseph. It seems that Fr. Finch had a devotion to St Joseph and that his devotion was rewarded with a happy death. Powerful intercessor, that St Joe!
St. Joseph Novena
Feast of St. Joseph
Novena Dates March 10-18, Feast Day March 19
O good father Joseph! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows and joys, to obtain for me what I ask.
(Here name your petition).
Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers, everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Be near to me in my last moments, that I may eternally sing the praises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen.
(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)
Anon posted the following: “I have a question that will probably sound stupid to many- but what is the purpose of novena? How is it different to any other form of prayer?”
This is a good definition from ewtn.com: “A novena is a nine-day period of private or public prayer to obtain special graces, to implore special favors, or to make special petitions. (Novena is derived from the Latin "novem", meaning nine.) As the definition suggests, the novena has always had more of a sense of urgency and neediness.” Ewtn also provides examples of novenas on its site; please click on today’s title to view the site.
After Adoration tonight, I will celebrate Mass in the home of the family of a parishioner who died last Thursday. The family has been praying a novena since then and asked for a Mass as a great way to finish the novena. I don’t know what kind of novena they have been praying and if they have been doing it individually each day or together, but what a beautiful offering for the repose of the soul of their loved one.
The parish offers at least a few novenas during the year. We pray the Miraculous Medal Novena on Mondays after the 8:30 am Mass. From Good Friday to Divine Mercy Sunday we have offered the Divine Mercy Novena. On this site, we prayed a novena for the election last year; you can go to October ‘08 and November ’08 in the “Archives” section to see it. I have known of many people praying novenas before and after major events in their lives or in the lives of family or friends (weddings, ordinations, job interviews, funerals, etc.). Something special often happens when specific intentions are presented in specific ways to the Kingdom of God over a period of time. As the definition indicated, this is usually in the form of special graces.
For example, someone might pray a novena to St Joseph for the sale of their home; he is the patron saint of home life (and home selling). The below example of a novena to St Joseph includes naming the petition which can be anything, of course. But, it’s most efficacious to take specific intentions to those who have abundant graces in those areas. St Joseph is also the patron saint of a happy death. The coolest example I’ve heard of with this was Fr. Bill Finch: he died after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday at the statue of St Joseph. It seems that Fr. Finch had a devotion to St Joseph and that his devotion was rewarded with a happy death. Powerful intercessor, that St Joe!
St. Joseph Novena
Feast of St. Joseph
Novena Dates March 10-18, Feast Day March 19
O good father Joseph! I beg you, by all your sufferings, sorrows and joys, to obtain for me what I ask.
(Here name your petition).
Obtain for all those who have asked my prayers, everything that is useful to them in the plan of God. Be near to me in my last moments, that I may eternally sing the praises of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Amen.
(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be)
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
"I don't understand the Immaculate Conception"
Mindy posted the following: “…I've been thinking about that banner in church that says ‘Mary conceived without sin.’ Now, I understand that she was literally ‘conceived’ in the normal way, but at what point did she become conceived without sin. Was her original sin negated and/or how is one, other than Jesus, literally ‘conceived’ without sin? I also read an article that talked about the ark being the holy vessel that held the old covenant and Mary was the holy vessel that held the new covenant. I never thought of her that way- it's pretty cool. I guess my (follow-up) question would have to be, if Mary was immaculately conceived, would it mean that her mother would also have been sinless so that Mary would not inherit sin? I guess, in a nutshell, I don't understand the Immaculate Conception.”
Good questions! In all of my study and research of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, I don’t remember seeing any specific descriptions of how Mary was immaculately conceived. We have that with the conception of Christ: “he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit”. The reason why the Church gives little or no specific analysis of Mary’s conception is because she has already told us how it happened: “by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God”. This was the phrase used by Pope Pius IX when he declared the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854:
“the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin” (Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854).
The definition clarifies a few things for us. First, Mary’s Immaculate Conception occurred by the Grace of God alone. God granted Mary an extraordinary grace by preserving her from any stain of original sin when she was conceived by her parents, (Sts.) Ann and Joachim. This was so that she could live out her vocation as the Mother of God: “To become the mother of the Savior, Mary ‘was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role’” (CCC, # 490).
Second, this was a grace given to Mary alone; no other woman (or created human being, for that matter) has ever been given this grace. Mary alone is “full of grace” (Lk 1:28) from the moment that her body and soul are conceived in the womb of Ann. No other person has received such a salutation in Scripture or the title of “Immaculate Conception” from the Church. “The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person ‘in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places’ and chose her ‘in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love’” (CCC, #492).
Third, Mary was redeemed at her conception. This is what “in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race” means, as the Catechism helps us understand. “Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, ‘full of grace’ through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses” (#491). In anticipation of the redemption of Christ, God gives Mary at conception the grace that will save her. (others who lived B.C. could have been saved by the grace of Christ in the same way: in anticipation of Christ’s redemption…it is the same grace that Mary receives, but she has it in full and at the moment of her conception).
“Catholic Answers” provides some good insights to all of this as well as a useful analogy. Here are some excerpts; to view the full article, please click on today’s title.
It’s important to understand what the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is and what it is not. Some people think the term refers to Christ’s conception in Mary’s womb without the intervention of a human father; but that is the Virgin Birth. Others think the Immaculate Conception means Mary was conceived "by the power of the Holy Spirit," in the way Jesus was, but that, too, is incorrect. The Immaculate Conception means that Mary, whose conception was brought about the normal way, was conceived without original sin or its stain—that’s what "immaculate" means: without stain. The essence of original sin consists in the deprivation of sanctifying grace, and its stain is a corrupt nature. Mary was preserved from these defects by God’s grace; from the first instant of her existence she was in the state of sanctifying grace and was free from the corrupt nature original sin brings.
When discussing the Immaculate Conception, an implicit reference may be found in the angel’s greeting to Mary. The angel Gabriel said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). The phrase "full of grace" is a translation of the Greek word kecharitomene. It therefore expresses a characteristic quality of Mary.
The traditional translation, "full of grace," is better than the one found in many recent versions of the New Testament, which give something along the lines of "highly favored daughter." Mary was indeed a highly favored daughter of God, but the Greek implies more than that (and it never mentions the word for "daughter"). The grace given to Mary is at once permanent and of a unique kind. Kecharitomene is a perfect passive participle of charitoo, meaning "to fill or endow with grace." Since this term is in the perfect tense, it indicates that Mary was graced in the past but with continuing effects in the present. So, the grace Mary enjoyed was not a result of the angel’s visit. In fact, Catholics hold, it extended over the whole of her life, from conception onward. She was in a state of sanctifying grace from the first moment of her existence.
Fundamentalists’ chief reason for objecting to the Immaculate Conception and Mary’s consequent sinlessness is that we are told that "all have sinned" (Rom. 3:23). Besides, they say, Mary said her "spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47), and only a sinner needs a Savior.
Let’s take the second citation first. Mary, too, required a Savior. Like all other descendants of Adam, she was subject to the necessity of contracting original sin. But by a special intervention of God, undertaken at the instant she was conceived, she was preserved from the stain of original sin and its consequences. She was therefore redeemed by the grace of Christ, but in a special way—by anticipation.
Consider an analogy: Suppose a man falls into a deep pit, and someone reaches down to pull him out. The man has been "saved" from the pit. Now imagine a woman walking along, and she too is about to topple into the pit, but at the very moment that she is to fall in, someone holds her back and prevents her. She too has been saved from the pit, but in an even better way: She was not simply taken out of the pit, she was prevented from getting stained by the mud in the first place. This is the illustration Christians have used for a thousand years to explain how Mary was saved by Christ. By receiving Christ’s grace at her conception, she had his grace applied to her before she was able to become mired in original sin and its stain.
Good questions! In all of my study and research of the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, I don’t remember seeing any specific descriptions of how Mary was immaculately conceived. We have that with the conception of Christ: “he was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit”. The reason why the Church gives little or no specific analysis of Mary’s conception is because she has already told us how it happened: “by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God”. This was the phrase used by Pope Pius IX when he declared the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in 1854:
“the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin” (Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus, 1854).
The definition clarifies a few things for us. First, Mary’s Immaculate Conception occurred by the Grace of God alone. God granted Mary an extraordinary grace by preserving her from any stain of original sin when she was conceived by her parents, (Sts.) Ann and Joachim. This was so that she could live out her vocation as the Mother of God: “To become the mother of the Savior, Mary ‘was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role’” (CCC, # 490).
Second, this was a grace given to Mary alone; no other woman (or created human being, for that matter) has ever been given this grace. Mary alone is “full of grace” (Lk 1:28) from the moment that her body and soul are conceived in the womb of Ann. No other person has received such a salutation in Scripture or the title of “Immaculate Conception” from the Church. “The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person ‘in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places’ and chose her ‘in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love’” (CCC, #492).
Third, Mary was redeemed at her conception. This is what “in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race” means, as the Catechism helps us understand. “Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, ‘full of grace’ through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses” (#491). In anticipation of the redemption of Christ, God gives Mary at conception the grace that will save her. (others who lived B.C. could have been saved by the grace of Christ in the same way: in anticipation of Christ’s redemption…it is the same grace that Mary receives, but she has it in full and at the moment of her conception).
“Catholic Answers” provides some good insights to all of this as well as a useful analogy. Here are some excerpts; to view the full article, please click on today’s title.
It’s important to understand what the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception is and what it is not. Some people think the term refers to Christ’s conception in Mary’s womb without the intervention of a human father; but that is the Virgin Birth. Others think the Immaculate Conception means Mary was conceived "by the power of the Holy Spirit," in the way Jesus was, but that, too, is incorrect. The Immaculate Conception means that Mary, whose conception was brought about the normal way, was conceived without original sin or its stain—that’s what "immaculate" means: without stain. The essence of original sin consists in the deprivation of sanctifying grace, and its stain is a corrupt nature. Mary was preserved from these defects by God’s grace; from the first instant of her existence she was in the state of sanctifying grace and was free from the corrupt nature original sin brings.
When discussing the Immaculate Conception, an implicit reference may be found in the angel’s greeting to Mary. The angel Gabriel said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). The phrase "full of grace" is a translation of the Greek word kecharitomene. It therefore expresses a characteristic quality of Mary.
The traditional translation, "full of grace," is better than the one found in many recent versions of the New Testament, which give something along the lines of "highly favored daughter." Mary was indeed a highly favored daughter of God, but the Greek implies more than that (and it never mentions the word for "daughter"). The grace given to Mary is at once permanent and of a unique kind. Kecharitomene is a perfect passive participle of charitoo, meaning "to fill or endow with grace." Since this term is in the perfect tense, it indicates that Mary was graced in the past but with continuing effects in the present. So, the grace Mary enjoyed was not a result of the angel’s visit. In fact, Catholics hold, it extended over the whole of her life, from conception onward. She was in a state of sanctifying grace from the first moment of her existence.
Fundamentalists’ chief reason for objecting to the Immaculate Conception and Mary’s consequent sinlessness is that we are told that "all have sinned" (Rom. 3:23). Besides, they say, Mary said her "spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47), and only a sinner needs a Savior.
Let’s take the second citation first. Mary, too, required a Savior. Like all other descendants of Adam, she was subject to the necessity of contracting original sin. But by a special intervention of God, undertaken at the instant she was conceived, she was preserved from the stain of original sin and its consequences. She was therefore redeemed by the grace of Christ, but in a special way—by anticipation.
Consider an analogy: Suppose a man falls into a deep pit, and someone reaches down to pull him out. The man has been "saved" from the pit. Now imagine a woman walking along, and she too is about to topple into the pit, but at the very moment that she is to fall in, someone holds her back and prevents her. She too has been saved from the pit, but in an even better way: She was not simply taken out of the pit, she was prevented from getting stained by the mud in the first place. This is the illustration Christians have used for a thousand years to explain how Mary was saved by Christ. By receiving Christ’s grace at her conception, she had his grace applied to her before she was able to become mired in original sin and its stain.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity - homily
“Did anything so great ever happen before?” This question from our first reading (Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 4) prompted another question for me last week: what are the greatest events in the history of the world? I challenge you to think of the five greatest events that have ever happened. I think we’d all agree as Catholic Christians that three of the major events of God would be in the top five: creation of the world, redemption of the world (life, death, and resurrection of Christ), and revelation of God which I’ll get to in a minute. Other events on our list might be major discoveries or inventions, major events in government, politics or movements where good won over evil, the birth of Joe Gibbs…! (or maybe just Super Bowl XVII when the Redskins beat the Dolphins). I challenge you to think about this and maybe even post your list of the five greatest events in the history of the world on our parish blog site this week.
The author of the Book of Deuteronomy rejoices in the revelation of God as being a great event. If we know the story, people waited hundreds if not thousands of years to know who God is. He then revealed himself: “I am the Lord, your God…and you will be my people”. He revealed himself to them as their God who will protect and guide them and keep them safe. It is a slow but gradual revelation in the Old Testament. One of the things that surprises people when they study the Old Testament is how loving and merciful God is. Time and again, God offers another chance to his people even though they continually sin against him. He reveals himself and his love and mercy; this revelation finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
We’ve all heard of stories of people who were separated from their parents at birth (e.g., adoption). When they grow up and learn that they were separated from their biological parents, they want to know who their parents are. When they find the truth, it is a great event. It may not be the happiest event because there might be bad feelings involving abandonment, but the truth brings them peace and healing. It is the same way with all of us. When we learn who God is, it is one of the greatest events in our lives! God is our Father and we are his children. The difference with us is that when we learn that God is a Father who never abandons us, it is all good.
If any of us or anyone we know doubts that God is loving and merciful, all we have to do is look at a Crucifix. God sends his Son into the world not only to reveal himself to us through words – that God is Father, Son, and Spirit – but also through action. He loves us so much that he is willing to die for our sins to be forgiven. The Father sends the Son into the world to reveal himself, and then sends the Spirit to bring us into relationship with himself. It is through the Spirit that we enter into relationship with the Holy Trinity and that God is revealed to us in love and mercy. There are some who are yearning for God to reveal himself to them. They have received the public revelation of God through Scripture and Tradition. But, they desire a personal revelation of his presence, love, and mercy. It is my great hope that the Spirit will grant their prayer and that they may experience a deep revelation of the presence of God in their lives.
Finally, we enter into relationship with the Holy Trinity through the sacraments, starting with Baptism. Christ makes this clear in today’s Gospel (Mt 28:16-20). He tells the Apostles to go out to all the nations and invite people into relationship with the Trinity by baptizing them “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. Every time I baptize a child or an adult, the Father, Son, and Spirit come to dwell in that person. The relationship begins there at Baptism and is nourished by the Eucharist. What a gift we have every time we come to Mass! We not only receive the revelation of who God is through the Word, but we also see God in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ. Where there’s the Son, there’s the Father and Spirit. We will see God on this altar in a few minutes, and then receive Him We will come in union with Divine Love: truly it is Holy Communion. As a family, we come in union with the Holy Family of Love – a Communion of Love. It is the greatest event of our day, no matter what other great events happen today. It is the greatest event of our week. It is the greatest event of our lives.
The author of the Book of Deuteronomy rejoices in the revelation of God as being a great event. If we know the story, people waited hundreds if not thousands of years to know who God is. He then revealed himself: “I am the Lord, your God…and you will be my people”. He revealed himself to them as their God who will protect and guide them and keep them safe. It is a slow but gradual revelation in the Old Testament. One of the things that surprises people when they study the Old Testament is how loving and merciful God is. Time and again, God offers another chance to his people even though they continually sin against him. He reveals himself and his love and mercy; this revelation finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
We’ve all heard of stories of people who were separated from their parents at birth (e.g., adoption). When they grow up and learn that they were separated from their biological parents, they want to know who their parents are. When they find the truth, it is a great event. It may not be the happiest event because there might be bad feelings involving abandonment, but the truth brings them peace and healing. It is the same way with all of us. When we learn who God is, it is one of the greatest events in our lives! God is our Father and we are his children. The difference with us is that when we learn that God is a Father who never abandons us, it is all good.
If any of us or anyone we know doubts that God is loving and merciful, all we have to do is look at a Crucifix. God sends his Son into the world not only to reveal himself to us through words – that God is Father, Son, and Spirit – but also through action. He loves us so much that he is willing to die for our sins to be forgiven. The Father sends the Son into the world to reveal himself, and then sends the Spirit to bring us into relationship with himself. It is through the Spirit that we enter into relationship with the Holy Trinity and that God is revealed to us in love and mercy. There are some who are yearning for God to reveal himself to them. They have received the public revelation of God through Scripture and Tradition. But, they desire a personal revelation of his presence, love, and mercy. It is my great hope that the Spirit will grant their prayer and that they may experience a deep revelation of the presence of God in their lives.
Finally, we enter into relationship with the Holy Trinity through the sacraments, starting with Baptism. Christ makes this clear in today’s Gospel (Mt 28:16-20). He tells the Apostles to go out to all the nations and invite people into relationship with the Trinity by baptizing them “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. Every time I baptize a child or an adult, the Father, Son, and Spirit come to dwell in that person. The relationship begins there at Baptism and is nourished by the Eucharist. What a gift we have every time we come to Mass! We not only receive the revelation of who God is through the Word, but we also see God in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ. Where there’s the Son, there’s the Father and Spirit. We will see God on this altar in a few minutes, and then receive Him We will come in union with Divine Love: truly it is Holy Communion. As a family, we come in union with the Holy Family of Love – a Communion of Love. It is the greatest event of our day, no matter what other great events happen today. It is the greatest event of our week. It is the greatest event of our lives.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Healing Mass: "was so...Joyful!"
1) Eucharistic Adoration, tonight, 7-8 pm, SAA Church. The Holy Hour will be offered for priests as part of an Archdiocesan effort as we approach priest ordinations (June 20). Please pray for priests!
2) DC ‘Hood vs. Holy Redeemer at Georgetown Prep, tonight, 6:30 pm. This is the make-up game from last week’s rainout. It will be indoors at the new gym at Prep. Go ‘Hood!!
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Anon asked, “What is a healing Mass? How is it set-up? Has anyone ever been to one?”
I don’t have any experience with healing Masses, so I’m not the best one to answer this. I know that there are healing Masses around the Archdiocese (e.g., St Jerome’s, Hyattsville) from time to time. I don’t think that every healing Mass follows the exact same format, but it is charismatic (invoking the gifts of the Holy Spirit) in nature. The following is a comment from another blog site by someone who attended a healing Mass (he seemed to indicate in other parts of his post that he used to be skeptical about such Masses). After reading this intriguing reflection, I might be interested in celebrating one some day:
…They call the Mass a "cenacle". The Mass was celebrated by the parish priest, and about 15 nuns of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Siervas de los Corazones Traspasados de Jesus y Maria) were present. I'm part of the leadership team for an Emmaus retreat which will be held at our parish in March, and I also went with the hope of juicing up my personal spirituality in preparation for the retreat…
I left the wife and kids at home. My wife asked if she should come and bring our youngest son who suffers from some allergies. I said let me check it out first.
I showed up at the church about 10 minutes before the 8pm Mass started. There were lots of people in the church, young and old. The church was eventually packed. I'd say there were 200 people there on a Friday night, lots of people in their 20s too (I'm 44). They were praying the rosary, of course.
This was a serious crowd. Serious in the sense that they were quiet. Better dressed than the Sunday parochial school congregants at my parish. Very little pre-Mass chatter. Very few cell phones ringing. People kept filing in after the Mass started…
The Mass was in Spanish. The lector was really good. The priest gave a great homily about John the Baptist, and about courage to have Christian values.
I was really struck by the music. The nuns would sing really praiseful, hallelujah music. It was not like what you see on tv in evangelical African-American churches, but it was really joyful with a tempered, Catholic twist. The hallelujahs seemed to escalate, building power, until they seemed to knock you over like a wave of water. These were women singing. They sang into microphones, but their voices sounded powerful apart from the electronic boost, and distinctly feminine. They sang at different points during the liturgy of the Eucharist. I felt like crying, it was so beautiful, but held it back.
The priest reminded everyone that they should have been to confession to receive the Eucharist (I went yesterday to get ready for this). Lots of people did NOT go to receive the Eucharist. I'd say maybe 25 or 30% sat it out. In my parish, I would say 95% of the people receive the Eucharist every Sunday. The make-up of the crowd was about the same as in my parish - almost 100% hispanic, with maybe 70 or 80 percent being Cuban/Cuban-American.
The Mass ended about an hour after it started, but there was no dismissal. A monstrance was brought out, and the Eucharist displayed and adored as virtually everyone kneeled. During the adoration those little nuns blasted out their beautiful, strong, hallelujah music. Many people held their hands up in the air as they kneeled. I just kneeled with my hands pressed together tightly. The priest held what seemed to be a very heavy monstrance up in the air for quite a few minutes. Then he walked around the church with it, up and down all the aisles and sides. People held up their hands towards the Eucharist. I just kept my hands together. We all stared at Him in the Eucharist, as the nuns continued to sing. It was so.... Joyful!...
2) DC ‘Hood vs. Holy Redeemer at Georgetown Prep, tonight, 6:30 pm. This is the make-up game from last week’s rainout. It will be indoors at the new gym at Prep. Go ‘Hood!!
-------------------------
Anon asked, “What is a healing Mass? How is it set-up? Has anyone ever been to one?”
I don’t have any experience with healing Masses, so I’m not the best one to answer this. I know that there are healing Masses around the Archdiocese (e.g., St Jerome’s, Hyattsville) from time to time. I don’t think that every healing Mass follows the exact same format, but it is charismatic (invoking the gifts of the Holy Spirit) in nature. The following is a comment from another blog site by someone who attended a healing Mass (he seemed to indicate in other parts of his post that he used to be skeptical about such Masses). After reading this intriguing reflection, I might be interested in celebrating one some day:
…They call the Mass a "cenacle". The Mass was celebrated by the parish priest, and about 15 nuns of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Siervas de los Corazones Traspasados de Jesus y Maria) were present. I'm part of the leadership team for an Emmaus retreat which will be held at our parish in March, and I also went with the hope of juicing up my personal spirituality in preparation for the retreat…
I left the wife and kids at home. My wife asked if she should come and bring our youngest son who suffers from some allergies. I said let me check it out first.
I showed up at the church about 10 minutes before the 8pm Mass started. There were lots of people in the church, young and old. The church was eventually packed. I'd say there were 200 people there on a Friday night, lots of people in their 20s too (I'm 44). They were praying the rosary, of course.
This was a serious crowd. Serious in the sense that they were quiet. Better dressed than the Sunday parochial school congregants at my parish. Very little pre-Mass chatter. Very few cell phones ringing. People kept filing in after the Mass started…
The Mass was in Spanish. The lector was really good. The priest gave a great homily about John the Baptist, and about courage to have Christian values.
I was really struck by the music. The nuns would sing really praiseful, hallelujah music. It was not like what you see on tv in evangelical African-American churches, but it was really joyful with a tempered, Catholic twist. The hallelujahs seemed to escalate, building power, until they seemed to knock you over like a wave of water. These were women singing. They sang into microphones, but their voices sounded powerful apart from the electronic boost, and distinctly feminine. They sang at different points during the liturgy of the Eucharist. I felt like crying, it was so beautiful, but held it back.
The priest reminded everyone that they should have been to confession to receive the Eucharist (I went yesterday to get ready for this). Lots of people did NOT go to receive the Eucharist. I'd say maybe 25 or 30% sat it out. In my parish, I would say 95% of the people receive the Eucharist every Sunday. The make-up of the crowd was about the same as in my parish - almost 100% hispanic, with maybe 70 or 80 percent being Cuban/Cuban-American.
The Mass ended about an hour after it started, but there was no dismissal. A monstrance was brought out, and the Eucharist displayed and adored as virtually everyone kneeled. During the adoration those little nuns blasted out their beautiful, strong, hallelujah music. Many people held their hands up in the air as they kneeled. I just kneeled with my hands pressed together tightly. The priest held what seemed to be a very heavy monstrance up in the air for quite a few minutes. Then he walked around the church with it, up and down all the aisles and sides. People held up their hands towards the Eucharist. I just kept my hands together. We all stared at Him in the Eucharist, as the nuns continued to sing. It was so.... Joyful!...
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Be friends with believers
DC 'Hood at Holy Redeemer, Friday, June 5, 6:30 pm. The game will be outdoors (9705 Summit Avenue, Kensington, Md 20895) and is the make-up game of last week's rainout. Go 'Hood!
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“But we can elude God if we choose to ignore Him, can't we? Isn't that why Hell exists?”
This comment from an anonymous blogger was in response to my post on April 24, “Hound of Heaven”. Yes, we can choose to elude God. “Elude” is an interesting word. The dictionary defines it as meaning “to avoid or escape by speed, cleverness, trickery, etc.” It would take an awful lot of speed, cleverness, trickery, etc. to elude God in this life. That’s what people who have experienced the “Hound of Heaven” have found. No matter how much they try to avoid Him or His goodness, He is still there seeking them. He is there in their experiences, He is there through other people, He is there in their minds and hearts. St Theresa of Avila once said that Jesus is always speaking to us, the question is are we listening?
So, it takes a lot of work to elude God in this life! He is all around us. His grace is present in all things but sin. I guess for someone to totally avoid Him in this life, they would have to remain in sin constantly which I don’t think is possible. Obviously, someone can choose to enter into a state of mortal sin and never leave it in this life; then, they would experience the catastrophe of being away from God and all that is good for all eternity in the state of Hell. But, God seeks those who are in mortal sin. He hounds them! He hounds all of us sinners! Anyone who doubts that should take one look at a Crucifix. Take a look at the Old Testament and see how many times God reaches out to His people in mercy and love. Take a look at a line for Confession and see how God’s Grace has moved people to confess their sins and reconciled with God and the Church. His grace is all around us, even when we have been eluding Him in sin.
We can liken this whole question to a student in school. A student can elude getting a passing grade on a test. Let’s say that the student has received all kinds of help in passing the test. The teacher has taught the material every day for weeks, reviewed the material several times just before the test, basically given the students the questions for the test, and gone out of his/her way to even tutor the individual student. The student’s friends have offered to help study with him. There is help for the student at every turn. It would take an awful lot of work for him not to pass the test! It would involve a lot of avoidance and escape by speed, cleverness, trickery, etc. Even though we don’t understand their intentions, some students do elude all the help to do well in school and some people elude all the help to experience God’s love in life.
Now, there are extraordinary situations where students in school or people in life are really trying to get it but just can’t. This is where some of our bloggers are. They are trying to find God, but can’t. They have tried Adoration, daily Mass, daily prayer, Scripture, this blog…the works. Still, they have no experience of God’s presence. It’s kind of like the student who can’t get the material. He just doesn’t get it. Well, what if the problem is the students with whom he’s studying. What if they don’t get the material themselves? They might even think they get it, but really don’t. I would tell him to study with other kids – the smart kids. Hang out with students who get it. I would give similar advice to bloggers who are struggling to find God: be friends with believers. Talk to and pray with devout Catholics. Be with people who pray, live the Gospel, are devoted to the Eucharist, go to Confession regularly, are God-fearing men or women, etc. It’s so important for all of us to be with people who build up our faith, not tear it down, especially for people who are struggling to find God. Good friends can be a huge source of help and support with faith. We all need support from others to live our faith. It’s virtually impossible for someone to live faith when they are regularly with people who don’t believe just like it’s virtually impossible for students to do well in school when they regularly study with people who don’t pass tests.
------------------------------
“But we can elude God if we choose to ignore Him, can't we? Isn't that why Hell exists?”
This comment from an anonymous blogger was in response to my post on April 24, “Hound of Heaven”. Yes, we can choose to elude God. “Elude” is an interesting word. The dictionary defines it as meaning “to avoid or escape by speed, cleverness, trickery, etc.” It would take an awful lot of speed, cleverness, trickery, etc. to elude God in this life. That’s what people who have experienced the “Hound of Heaven” have found. No matter how much they try to avoid Him or His goodness, He is still there seeking them. He is there in their experiences, He is there through other people, He is there in their minds and hearts. St Theresa of Avila once said that Jesus is always speaking to us, the question is are we listening?
So, it takes a lot of work to elude God in this life! He is all around us. His grace is present in all things but sin. I guess for someone to totally avoid Him in this life, they would have to remain in sin constantly which I don’t think is possible. Obviously, someone can choose to enter into a state of mortal sin and never leave it in this life; then, they would experience the catastrophe of being away from God and all that is good for all eternity in the state of Hell. But, God seeks those who are in mortal sin. He hounds them! He hounds all of us sinners! Anyone who doubts that should take one look at a Crucifix. Take a look at the Old Testament and see how many times God reaches out to His people in mercy and love. Take a look at a line for Confession and see how God’s Grace has moved people to confess their sins and reconciled with God and the Church. His grace is all around us, even when we have been eluding Him in sin.
We can liken this whole question to a student in school. A student can elude getting a passing grade on a test. Let’s say that the student has received all kinds of help in passing the test. The teacher has taught the material every day for weeks, reviewed the material several times just before the test, basically given the students the questions for the test, and gone out of his/her way to even tutor the individual student. The student’s friends have offered to help study with him. There is help for the student at every turn. It would take an awful lot of work for him not to pass the test! It would involve a lot of avoidance and escape by speed, cleverness, trickery, etc. Even though we don’t understand their intentions, some students do elude all the help to do well in school and some people elude all the help to experience God’s love in life.
Now, there are extraordinary situations where students in school or people in life are really trying to get it but just can’t. This is where some of our bloggers are. They are trying to find God, but can’t. They have tried Adoration, daily Mass, daily prayer, Scripture, this blog…the works. Still, they have no experience of God’s presence. It’s kind of like the student who can’t get the material. He just doesn’t get it. Well, what if the problem is the students with whom he’s studying. What if they don’t get the material themselves? They might even think they get it, but really don’t. I would tell him to study with other kids – the smart kids. Hang out with students who get it. I would give similar advice to bloggers who are struggling to find God: be friends with believers. Talk to and pray with devout Catholics. Be with people who pray, live the Gospel, are devoted to the Eucharist, go to Confession regularly, are God-fearing men or women, etc. It’s so important for all of us to be with people who build up our faith, not tear it down, especially for people who are struggling to find God. Good friends can be a huge source of help and support with faith. We all need support from others to live our faith. It’s virtually impossible for someone to live faith when they are regularly with people who don’t believe just like it’s virtually impossible for students to do well in school when they regularly study with people who don’t pass tests.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Pentecost - homily
“You can’t handle the truth!” This is the famous line from the movie, “A Few Good Men”. Jack Nicholson says this to Tom Cruise after Cruise says, “I want the truth”. “You can’t handle the truth”. This is basically what Jesus is saying to the Apostles in today’s Gospel (Jn 15:26-27; 16:12-15). The Apostles weren’t ready to hear the truth, the fullness of truth. We are all like the Apostles in that way – sometimes we just can’t handle the truth or don’t hear the truth when it is given to us. But, today is the day that the Apostles were ready for the truth. Today, Pentecost, is when the Spirit of truth came down upon them and led them to all truth. May we be open to the Spirit in hearing the truth.
Truth has a face – it is the face of Christ. Christ is the truth. The words that come from his mouth are truth – the beautiful, rich, true, and real words of Christ. When we hear the truth, it changes our lives. Truth demands a response. In “A Few Good Men”, once Jack Nickolson testifies to the truth, there is an immediate reaction by the court and justice is done. When the Holy Spirit comes upon the Apostles with the truth, they respond immediately. We’ve been hearing the Acts of the Apostles throughout the Easter season – stuff has been happening, things have been moving. Truth demands a response.
I have seen many here respond to the truth. For example, many have heard the truth about the Eucharist and responded. One parishioner told me last night that even though she went through 16 years of Catholic education, it wasn’t recently here that she heard the truth about the Eucharist and has responded to it. I’ve worked with others here who have heard the truth about sin. A few years ago, the extent of their examination of conscience was that they hadn’t killed anyone. Now, they’ve learned that other things in their lives are sins – drunkenness, gossip, gluttony, for example – and they have responded by going to Confession and going regularly. Nationally, we saw the recent results of a poll that show that most Americans are now pro-life. They have seen and heard the truth about abortion and have responded. Again in our parish, the hope is that our young people are searching for the truth about their vocation and that when they learn the truth, they will respond generously.
Truth demands a response. There are two ways we can respond when we hear the truth. One option is that we can hear the truth and dismiss it. Many will say, “that is your truth but it is not the truth for me”. Folks, there is one truth! There aren’t several truths. Either something is the truth or it is not. Like, in math, two plus two is four…it’s not three or five or whatever you want it to be. It’s four. That’s the truth.
Can a Catholic dismiss the truth that the Church teaches? Not regarding doctrine. Not regarding teachings of faith and morals. The doctrine of the Church is the doctrine of Christ. It is the truth. The second option when we hear the truth is to follow it. It means hearing Christ and following him. May we all hear the truth of Christ and follow it.
Finally, for those Catholics who are like Tom Cruise and say, “I want the truth!”, where do they find the truth? There are many resources in our Church, but the best one is the Catechism. It’s a big, fat book that can be overwhelming, but it has the truth that the Church teaches. We can go to someone we know who knows how to use the Catechism or go to a priest to help us find the truth that our Church teaches. When we find the truth, we find Christ because Christ is the truth. Where there is truth, there is love. May each of us find the fullness of truth, and may the truth set us free.
Truth has a face – it is the face of Christ. Christ is the truth. The words that come from his mouth are truth – the beautiful, rich, true, and real words of Christ. When we hear the truth, it changes our lives. Truth demands a response. In “A Few Good Men”, once Jack Nickolson testifies to the truth, there is an immediate reaction by the court and justice is done. When the Holy Spirit comes upon the Apostles with the truth, they respond immediately. We’ve been hearing the Acts of the Apostles throughout the Easter season – stuff has been happening, things have been moving. Truth demands a response.
I have seen many here respond to the truth. For example, many have heard the truth about the Eucharist and responded. One parishioner told me last night that even though she went through 16 years of Catholic education, it wasn’t recently here that she heard the truth about the Eucharist and has responded to it. I’ve worked with others here who have heard the truth about sin. A few years ago, the extent of their examination of conscience was that they hadn’t killed anyone. Now, they’ve learned that other things in their lives are sins – drunkenness, gossip, gluttony, for example – and they have responded by going to Confession and going regularly. Nationally, we saw the recent results of a poll that show that most Americans are now pro-life. They have seen and heard the truth about abortion and have responded. Again in our parish, the hope is that our young people are searching for the truth about their vocation and that when they learn the truth, they will respond generously.
Truth demands a response. There are two ways we can respond when we hear the truth. One option is that we can hear the truth and dismiss it. Many will say, “that is your truth but it is not the truth for me”. Folks, there is one truth! There aren’t several truths. Either something is the truth or it is not. Like, in math, two plus two is four…it’s not three or five or whatever you want it to be. It’s four. That’s the truth.
Can a Catholic dismiss the truth that the Church teaches? Not regarding doctrine. Not regarding teachings of faith and morals. The doctrine of the Church is the doctrine of Christ. It is the truth. The second option when we hear the truth is to follow it. It means hearing Christ and following him. May we all hear the truth of Christ and follow it.
Finally, for those Catholics who are like Tom Cruise and say, “I want the truth!”, where do they find the truth? There are many resources in our Church, but the best one is the Catechism. It’s a big, fat book that can be overwhelming, but it has the truth that the Church teaches. We can go to someone we know who knows how to use the Catechism or go to a priest to help us find the truth that our Church teaches. When we find the truth, we find Christ because Christ is the truth. Where there is truth, there is love. May each of us find the fullness of truth, and may the truth set us free.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Is the Eucharist necessary for salvation?
1) Eucharistic Adoration, tonight, 7-8 pm, SAA Church. All are invited!!
2)DC ‘Hood at Holy Redeemer, Kensington, tonight, 6 pm. Go ‘Hood!!
-----------------------
In my Easter Sunday homily, I mentioned the role of the Eucharist in the life of a Catholic. I said, “Jesus tells me that I need to receive the Eucharist if I want to get to Heaven”. One blogger said that he/she had never heard this before and another said that he/she was confused on what I meant (i.e., receiving the Eucharist was a requirement for getting to Heaven). Also, Cynthia quoted St. Thomas Aquinas who argued that the Eucharist is not necessary for salvation. It seems as though one comment from a homily has caused some thought, reflection, and research which is a good thing! Please let me clarify my comment.
First of all, please keep in mind that I was speaking to mostly Catholics, some of whom come to Church only on Easter and Christmas. In a nutshell, I was trying to get their attention about the paramount importance that Jesus places on receiving the Eucharist in John 6:53-54: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day”. I have found that many Catholics are not familiar with John 6, especially verses 53 and 54. It is my duty as a priest to teach them the doctrines of the Church and the Eucharist is among the most important doctrines. As you have noticed, I use creative ways to teach the doctrines. Maybe I used a little too much creative license to make my point, but the point was heard and has been heard by many Catholics who otherwise would not have heard it.
Secondly, it is a debatable point in the Church – some say that the Eucharist is necessary for salvation and others say not. For example, Fr. John Hardon was a well-known and well-respected Jesuit who taught that the Eucharist is necessary for salvation. He said:
Like Baptism, the Eucharist is necessary for salvation to be received either sacramentally or in desire. Christ's words, "if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not have life in you" (John 6:53), means that Holy Communion is necessary to sustain the life of grace in a person who has reached the age of reason. Those who, through no fault of their own, do not realize this can receive the necessary grace to remain in God's friendship through other means. This is similar to what happens with the baptism of desire to first receive the state of grace.
- http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/pea/bas_hsc.htm
Also, there is this from newadvent.org:
The doctrine of the Church is that Holy Communion is morally necessary for salvation, that is to say, without the graces of this sacrament it would be very difficult to resist grave temptations and avoid grievous sin. Moreover, there is according to theologians a Divine precept by which all are bound to receive communion at least some times during life. How often this precept urges outside the danger of death it is not easy to say, but many hold that the Church has practically determined the Divine precept by the law of the Fourth Council of Lateran (c.xxi) confirmed by Trent, which obliges the faithful to receive Communion once each year within Paschal Time.
The main reason that I would use to argue that the Eucharist is necessary for salvation is because Grace is necessary for salvation, and in the Eucharist there is Grace. That’s what Jesus is really saying in John 6 – that if we don’t receive the Eucharist, we will not have Grace within us. We first receive Sanctifying Grace at Baptism and it is nourished and nurtured by the Eucharist. The Eucharist builds up Grace (“eternal life”) within us and gives us strength to avoid serious sin, as the above article states. If serious sin is accompanied by the knowledge and consent that make it mortal, then the state of grace is lost and “you have no life within you”. Catholics know they need to be at Mass every Sunday and I don’t want them to fall into mortal sin. So, I emphasize receiving the Eucharist so that Catholics will come to Mass and keep holy the Sabbath each week.
Finally, I hope that all those who enter into this discussion are receiving the Eucharist in the Catholic (or Orthodox) Church. St. Thomas Aquinas might have argued against the necessity of the Eucharist for salvation (and that was probably regarding those who are ignorant about the Eucharist), but he loved the Eucharist dearly and regularly received the Blessed Sacrament. His exquisite and rich writings on the Eucharist are some of the best in the Church and should lead all who read them to not only need the Eucharist but hunger for it. I hope that all those who take his side in this debate follow his example.
2)DC ‘Hood at Holy Redeemer, Kensington, tonight, 6 pm. Go ‘Hood!!
-----------------------
In my Easter Sunday homily, I mentioned the role of the Eucharist in the life of a Catholic. I said, “Jesus tells me that I need to receive the Eucharist if I want to get to Heaven”. One blogger said that he/she had never heard this before and another said that he/she was confused on what I meant (i.e., receiving the Eucharist was a requirement for getting to Heaven). Also, Cynthia quoted St. Thomas Aquinas who argued that the Eucharist is not necessary for salvation. It seems as though one comment from a homily has caused some thought, reflection, and research which is a good thing! Please let me clarify my comment.
First of all, please keep in mind that I was speaking to mostly Catholics, some of whom come to Church only on Easter and Christmas. In a nutshell, I was trying to get their attention about the paramount importance that Jesus places on receiving the Eucharist in John 6:53-54: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day”. I have found that many Catholics are not familiar with John 6, especially verses 53 and 54. It is my duty as a priest to teach them the doctrines of the Church and the Eucharist is among the most important doctrines. As you have noticed, I use creative ways to teach the doctrines. Maybe I used a little too much creative license to make my point, but the point was heard and has been heard by many Catholics who otherwise would not have heard it.
Secondly, it is a debatable point in the Church – some say that the Eucharist is necessary for salvation and others say not. For example, Fr. John Hardon was a well-known and well-respected Jesuit who taught that the Eucharist is necessary for salvation. He said:
Like Baptism, the Eucharist is necessary for salvation to be received either sacramentally or in desire. Christ's words, "if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will not have life in you" (John 6:53), means that Holy Communion is necessary to sustain the life of grace in a person who has reached the age of reason. Those who, through no fault of their own, do not realize this can receive the necessary grace to remain in God's friendship through other means. This is similar to what happens with the baptism of desire to first receive the state of grace.
- http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/pea/bas_hsc.htm
Also, there is this from newadvent.org:
The doctrine of the Church is that Holy Communion is morally necessary for salvation, that is to say, without the graces of this sacrament it would be very difficult to resist grave temptations and avoid grievous sin. Moreover, there is according to theologians a Divine precept by which all are bound to receive communion at least some times during life. How often this precept urges outside the danger of death it is not easy to say, but many hold that the Church has practically determined the Divine precept by the law of the Fourth Council of Lateran (c.xxi) confirmed by Trent, which obliges the faithful to receive Communion once each year within Paschal Time.
The main reason that I would use to argue that the Eucharist is necessary for salvation is because Grace is necessary for salvation, and in the Eucharist there is Grace. That’s what Jesus is really saying in John 6 – that if we don’t receive the Eucharist, we will not have Grace within us. We first receive Sanctifying Grace at Baptism and it is nourished and nurtured by the Eucharist. The Eucharist builds up Grace (“eternal life”) within us and gives us strength to avoid serious sin, as the above article states. If serious sin is accompanied by the knowledge and consent that make it mortal, then the state of grace is lost and “you have no life within you”. Catholics know they need to be at Mass every Sunday and I don’t want them to fall into mortal sin. So, I emphasize receiving the Eucharist so that Catholics will come to Mass and keep holy the Sabbath each week.
Finally, I hope that all those who enter into this discussion are receiving the Eucharist in the Catholic (or Orthodox) Church. St. Thomas Aquinas might have argued against the necessity of the Eucharist for salvation (and that was probably regarding those who are ignorant about the Eucharist), but he loved the Eucharist dearly and regularly received the Blessed Sacrament. His exquisite and rich writings on the Eucharist are some of the best in the Church and should lead all who read them to not only need the Eucharist but hunger for it. I hope that all those who take his side in this debate follow his example.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
"Let me get through today"
It has been a while since we’ve had a post about a saint, so here is a short bio from americancatholic.org on the saint the Church celebrates today: St. Philip Neri (1515-1595). St. Philip’s quote is especially apt for us.
Philip Neri was a sign of contradiction, combining popularity with piety against the background of a corrupt Rome and a disinterested clergy, the whole post-Renaissance malaise.
At an early age, he abandoned the chance to become a businessman, moved to Rome from Florence and devoted his life and individuality to God. After three years of philosophy and theology studies, he gave up any thought of ordination. The next 13 years were spent in a vocation unusual at the time—that of a layperson actively engaged in prayer and the apostolate.
As the Council of Trent was reforming the Church on a doctrinal level, Philip’s appealing personality was winning him friends from all levels of society, from beggars to cardinals. He rapidly gathered around himself a group of laypersons won over by his audacious spirituality. Initially they met as an informal prayer and discussion group, and also served poor people in Rome.
At the urging of his confessor, he was ordained priest and soon became an outstanding confessor, gifted with the knack of piercing the pretenses and illusions of others, though always in a charitable manner and often with a joke. He arranged talks, discussions and prayers for his penitents in a room above the church. He sometimes led “excursions” to other churches, often with music and a picnic on the way.
Some of his followers became priests and lived together in community. This was the beginning of the Oratory, the religious institute he founded. A feature of their life was a daily afternoon service of four informal talks, with vernacular hymns and prayers. Giovanni Palestrina was one of Philip’s followers, and composed music for the services.
The Oratory was finally approved after suffering through a period of accusations of being an assembly of heretics, where laypersons preached and sang vernacular hymns! (Cardinal Newman founded the first English-speaking house of the Oratory.)
Philip’s advice was sought by many of the prominent figures of his day. He is one of the influential figures of the Counter-Reformation, mainly for converting to personal holiness many of the influential people within the Church itself. His characteristic virtues were humility and gaiety.
Comment:
Many people wrongly feel that such an attractive and jocular personality as Philip’s cannot be combined with an intense spirituality. Philip’s life melts our rigid, narrow views of piety. His approach to sanctity was truly catholic, all-embracing and accompanied by a good laugh. Philip always wanted his followers to become not less but more human through their striving for holiness.
Quote:
Philip Neri prayed, "Let me get through today, and I shall not fear tomorrow.”
Philip Neri was a sign of contradiction, combining popularity with piety against the background of a corrupt Rome and a disinterested clergy, the whole post-Renaissance malaise.
At an early age, he abandoned the chance to become a businessman, moved to Rome from Florence and devoted his life and individuality to God. After three years of philosophy and theology studies, he gave up any thought of ordination. The next 13 years were spent in a vocation unusual at the time—that of a layperson actively engaged in prayer and the apostolate.
As the Council of Trent was reforming the Church on a doctrinal level, Philip’s appealing personality was winning him friends from all levels of society, from beggars to cardinals. He rapidly gathered around himself a group of laypersons won over by his audacious spirituality. Initially they met as an informal prayer and discussion group, and also served poor people in Rome.
At the urging of his confessor, he was ordained priest and soon became an outstanding confessor, gifted with the knack of piercing the pretenses and illusions of others, though always in a charitable manner and often with a joke. He arranged talks, discussions and prayers for his penitents in a room above the church. He sometimes led “excursions” to other churches, often with music and a picnic on the way.
Some of his followers became priests and lived together in community. This was the beginning of the Oratory, the religious institute he founded. A feature of their life was a daily afternoon service of four informal talks, with vernacular hymns and prayers. Giovanni Palestrina was one of Philip’s followers, and composed music for the services.
The Oratory was finally approved after suffering through a period of accusations of being an assembly of heretics, where laypersons preached and sang vernacular hymns! (Cardinal Newman founded the first English-speaking house of the Oratory.)
Philip’s advice was sought by many of the prominent figures of his day. He is one of the influential figures of the Counter-Reformation, mainly for converting to personal holiness many of the influential people within the Church itself. His characteristic virtues were humility and gaiety.
Comment:
Many people wrongly feel that such an attractive and jocular personality as Philip’s cannot be combined with an intense spirituality. Philip’s life melts our rigid, narrow views of piety. His approach to sanctity was truly catholic, all-embracing and accompanied by a good laugh. Philip always wanted his followers to become not less but more human through their striving for holiness.
Quote:
Philip Neri prayed, "Let me get through today, and I shall not fear tomorrow.”
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Ascension of the Lord - homily
One day Jesus walking through the streets of Jerusalem when he decided that he needed a new robe. After looking around for a while, he saw a sign for Finkelstein, the Tailor. He walked in and was fitted by Finkelstein for a new robe. A few days later, he came back to try it on and it was a perfect fit! Jesus asked how much he owed, and Finkelstein said, “Oh, no, no charge for the Son of God. But, Jesus, when you give your sermons, please mention that your new robe was made by Finkelstein the Tailor”. Jesus said, “sure”. So, Jesus did exactly that – he finished his sermons by mentioning that Finkelstein the Tailor had made his beautiful new robe.
Months later, Jesus was walking through the streets of Jerusalem again and saw a huge line outside the door of Finkelstein’s shop. He made his way through the crowd and found Finkelstein who said, “Jesus, look at what you’ve done for my business! This is wonderful. Would you consider a partnership?” Jesus said, “Certainly. Jesus and Finkelstein it is”. But, Finkelstein said, “Oh, no, no. Finkelstein and Jesus it is. After all, I am the craftsman”. The two of them went back and forth and had a spirited debate over the name of their shop. Finally, they came to an agreement and a sign went up a week later over the shop: LORD AND TAYLOR
Today we celebrate the feast of the Ascension of the Lord. As we celebrate Jesus’ ascension into heaven (into glory), I ask you to go back a little over forty days ago to Good Friday. Jesus is really down: fallen, wounded, hurt, stripped, ridiculed. It was a really dark time for him. He is carrying his cross, he is on the cross. It’s really bad. Who could ever have thought it would get better for him? Who would have seen this day coming after seeing Good Friday? Who could have thought that he would be glorified after being humbled so much? And, how could it happen?
After a little over forty days, Jesus’ situation got a whole lot better. He went from being greatly humbled to being glorified. This all came about through the power of God. God raised Jesus from death and then raised him to glory. Now, we might not be that surprised about this. After all, this is God’s son! And, we know the story well. But, the story of Christ is our story, too: through the power of God, we will ascend into glory.
Each of us will go through Good Friday at some point in our lives. We will be beaten down, fallen, wounded, hurt, stripped, ridiculed. We all have our dark times. We are all probably carrying a cross right now. It’s really tough and doesn’t seem that it will get any better. It doesn’t seem that we will get any better. And yet, if we bring ourselves and our situation to the power of God, we will rise. If we carry our cross in union with Christ, we will ascend into glory. It may not be forty days from now, but it will happen someday. God’s power – the “surpassing greatness of his power” as the second reading says – will raise us from this world to a world of glory.
A couple of examples of people who brought their situations to the power of God and have experienced an ascension. A married couple came to see me weeks ago. They were going through a tough stretch and were having problems. They sat down in my office pretty far apart from each other and barely looked at each other. It is interesting to see different couples come in to see me. Engaged couples preparing for marriage sit right next to each other, hold hands, and are all goo-goo for each other. Couples who have been married for some years and are going through some problems sit farther away from each other, rarely hold hands, and sometimes don’t even look at each other. That was the way this couple was acting. There was some loud talk – even yelling – and arguing. As we talked over the course of the hour, they came closer together and spoke more respectfully to each other. By the end, they were holding hands and actually left the rectory in a warm embrace. The wife sent me a letter a few weeks ago, saying that they were doing better. They had brought their very dark situation to the power of God and their marriage has now been raised up.
I am friends with a college student who is not from this parish. She has had a very tough freshman year. She has been extremely sad, especially lately. It got so bad that she said she didn’t see the point in going on, that she didn’t want to live anymore. I asked her to take this to Christ, specifically the Eucharist. She is familiar with Adoration, so I asked her to go to Adoration each day for 30 days. I promised her that Jesus would do something during those 30 days that will tell her that everything will be ok. She agreed, and has started her 30 days. A few days into it, she sent me a text that said she thinks this will get better and everything will be ok. Again, she brought her very dark situation to the power of God and is now being raised up.
We, too, will experience an ascension into glory if we take ourselves and our situations to the power of God. If we live in Christ – if we unite our suffering to his – we will experience what he experienced even though we can’t see how that could possibly happen. We, too, will be raised from this world into a world of glory.
Months later, Jesus was walking through the streets of Jerusalem again and saw a huge line outside the door of Finkelstein’s shop. He made his way through the crowd and found Finkelstein who said, “Jesus, look at what you’ve done for my business! This is wonderful. Would you consider a partnership?” Jesus said, “Certainly. Jesus and Finkelstein it is”. But, Finkelstein said, “Oh, no, no. Finkelstein and Jesus it is. After all, I am the craftsman”. The two of them went back and forth and had a spirited debate over the name of their shop. Finally, they came to an agreement and a sign went up a week later over the shop: LORD AND TAYLOR
Today we celebrate the feast of the Ascension of the Lord. As we celebrate Jesus’ ascension into heaven (into glory), I ask you to go back a little over forty days ago to Good Friday. Jesus is really down: fallen, wounded, hurt, stripped, ridiculed. It was a really dark time for him. He is carrying his cross, he is on the cross. It’s really bad. Who could ever have thought it would get better for him? Who would have seen this day coming after seeing Good Friday? Who could have thought that he would be glorified after being humbled so much? And, how could it happen?
After a little over forty days, Jesus’ situation got a whole lot better. He went from being greatly humbled to being glorified. This all came about through the power of God. God raised Jesus from death and then raised him to glory. Now, we might not be that surprised about this. After all, this is God’s son! And, we know the story well. But, the story of Christ is our story, too: through the power of God, we will ascend into glory.
Each of us will go through Good Friday at some point in our lives. We will be beaten down, fallen, wounded, hurt, stripped, ridiculed. We all have our dark times. We are all probably carrying a cross right now. It’s really tough and doesn’t seem that it will get any better. It doesn’t seem that we will get any better. And yet, if we bring ourselves and our situation to the power of God, we will rise. If we carry our cross in union with Christ, we will ascend into glory. It may not be forty days from now, but it will happen someday. God’s power – the “surpassing greatness of his power” as the second reading says – will raise us from this world to a world of glory.
A couple of examples of people who brought their situations to the power of God and have experienced an ascension. A married couple came to see me weeks ago. They were going through a tough stretch and were having problems. They sat down in my office pretty far apart from each other and barely looked at each other. It is interesting to see different couples come in to see me. Engaged couples preparing for marriage sit right next to each other, hold hands, and are all goo-goo for each other. Couples who have been married for some years and are going through some problems sit farther away from each other, rarely hold hands, and sometimes don’t even look at each other. That was the way this couple was acting. There was some loud talk – even yelling – and arguing. As we talked over the course of the hour, they came closer together and spoke more respectfully to each other. By the end, they were holding hands and actually left the rectory in a warm embrace. The wife sent me a letter a few weeks ago, saying that they were doing better. They had brought their very dark situation to the power of God and their marriage has now been raised up.
I am friends with a college student who is not from this parish. She has had a very tough freshman year. She has been extremely sad, especially lately. It got so bad that she said she didn’t see the point in going on, that she didn’t want to live anymore. I asked her to take this to Christ, specifically the Eucharist. She is familiar with Adoration, so I asked her to go to Adoration each day for 30 days. I promised her that Jesus would do something during those 30 days that will tell her that everything will be ok. She agreed, and has started her 30 days. A few days into it, she sent me a text that said she thinks this will get better and everything will be ok. Again, she brought her very dark situation to the power of God and is now being raised up.
We, too, will experience an ascension into glory if we take ourselves and our situations to the power of God. If we live in Christ – if we unite our suffering to his – we will experience what he experienced even though we can’t see how that could possibly happen. We, too, will be raised from this world into a world of glory.
Friday, May 22, 2009
"The Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all"
Eucharistic Adoration, tonight, 7-8 pm, SAA Church. Please join us!!
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Anon asked the following: “How does Jesus understand the pain, the inner turmoil we feel (towards ourselves and those we've hurt) as a result of mortal and venial sin(s) we've committed? I grasp the concept that He understands the pain we experience when unexpected and unfair events that we have no control over occur. I grasp the concept that He can forgive our sins through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but just how does He understand the pain we experience from events that are the result of our poor or wrong choices? He never made poor or wrong choices. He never committed any sins. Even His death was perfect. Can one truly empathize, be sympathetic or understand that which they have never experienced? If so, how? What do they use as a baseline for their understanding if they've never experienced the emotion or feeling?”
These are definitely good questions, Anon. The answers focus on the person of Christ. His Incarnation is itself a mystery, so any specific aspects of his experience is ultimately a mystery. But, the Church helps us to gain some understanding by looking at his person. Because he is fully human and fully divine, Christ’s experience on Earth transcends all things. As a Divine Person with unlimited power, he could enter into the full human experience with one thought and in the blink of an eye. The fact that he chose to experience this himself in his human nature shows us how much he desires to be in union with us.
How does Christ enter into full union with us? How does he experience every human pain due to sin? Scripture helps us to begin to understand: “The Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all” (Is 53:6). Christ had the guilt of our sin on his shoulders on Calvary. He was literally carrying the weight of the world’s sin on his back. He was carrying our suffering. Suffering is the result of the guilt of our sin. The Lord laid upon Christ all of our suffering. It has been said that Christ saw every sin that has been or will be committed from the Cross; we can say that he felt the pain of every sin that has been or will be committed.
The Catechism sheds some great light on Christ’s union with us in paragraph #’s 602 and 603 with some relevant Scripture passages:
Consequently, St. Peter can formulate the apostolic faith in the divine plan of salvation in this way: "You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers. . . with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake."402 Man's sins, following on original sin, are punishable by death.403 By sending his own Son in the form of a slave, in the form of a fallen humanity, on account of sin, God "made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."404 (602)
Jesus did not experience reprobation as if he himself had sinned.405 But in the redeeming love that always united him to the Father, he assumed us in the state of our waywardness of sin, to the point that he could say in our name from the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"406 Having thus established him in solidarity with us sinners, God "did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all", so that we might be "reconciled to God by the death of his Son".407 (603).
Also, Pope John Paul II expands upon this in his apostolic letter, Salvifici Doloris (1984):
…After the words in Gethsemane come the words uttered on Golgotha, words which bear witness to this depth—unique in the history of the world—of the evil of the suffering experienced. When Christ says: "My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?", his words are not only an expression of that abandonment which many times found expression in the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms and in particular in that Psalm 22 [21] from which come the words quoted(47). One can say that these words on abandonment are born at the level of that inseparable union of the Son with the Father, and are born because the Father "laid on him the iniquity of us all"(48). They also foreshadow the words of Saint Paul: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin"(49). Together with this horrible weight, encompassing the "entire" evil of the turning away from God which is contained in sin, Christ, through the divine depth of his filial union with the Father, perceives in a humanly inexpressible way this suffering which is the separation, the rejection by the Father, the estrangement from God. But precisely through this suffering he accomplishes the Redemption, and can say as he breathes his last: "It is finished"(50).
One can also say that the Scripture has been fulfilled, that these words of the Song of the Suffering Servant have been definitively accomplished: "it was the will of the Lord to bruise him"(51). Human suffering has reached its culmination in the Passion of Christ. And at the same time it has entered into a completely new dimension and a new order: it has been linked to love, to that love of which Christ spoke to Nicodemus, to that love which creates good, drawing it out by means of suffering, just as the supreme good of the Redemption of the world was drawn from the Cross of Christ, and from that Cross constantly takes its beginning. The Cross of Christ has become a source from which flow rivers of living water(52). In it we must also pose anew the question about the meaning of suffering, and read in it, to its very depths, the answer to this question.
-----------------------
Anon asked the following: “How does Jesus understand the pain, the inner turmoil we feel (towards ourselves and those we've hurt) as a result of mortal and venial sin(s) we've committed? I grasp the concept that He understands the pain we experience when unexpected and unfair events that we have no control over occur. I grasp the concept that He can forgive our sins through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but just how does He understand the pain we experience from events that are the result of our poor or wrong choices? He never made poor or wrong choices. He never committed any sins. Even His death was perfect. Can one truly empathize, be sympathetic or understand that which they have never experienced? If so, how? What do they use as a baseline for their understanding if they've never experienced the emotion or feeling?”
These are definitely good questions, Anon. The answers focus on the person of Christ. His Incarnation is itself a mystery, so any specific aspects of his experience is ultimately a mystery. But, the Church helps us to gain some understanding by looking at his person. Because he is fully human and fully divine, Christ’s experience on Earth transcends all things. As a Divine Person with unlimited power, he could enter into the full human experience with one thought and in the blink of an eye. The fact that he chose to experience this himself in his human nature shows us how much he desires to be in union with us.
How does Christ enter into full union with us? How does he experience every human pain due to sin? Scripture helps us to begin to understand: “The Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all” (Is 53:6). Christ had the guilt of our sin on his shoulders on Calvary. He was literally carrying the weight of the world’s sin on his back. He was carrying our suffering. Suffering is the result of the guilt of our sin. The Lord laid upon Christ all of our suffering. It has been said that Christ saw every sin that has been or will be committed from the Cross; we can say that he felt the pain of every sin that has been or will be committed.
The Catechism sheds some great light on Christ’s union with us in paragraph #’s 602 and 603 with some relevant Scripture passages:
Consequently, St. Peter can formulate the apostolic faith in the divine plan of salvation in this way: "You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers. . . with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was destined before the foundation of the world but was made manifest at the end of the times for your sake."402 Man's sins, following on original sin, are punishable by death.403 By sending his own Son in the form of a slave, in the form of a fallen humanity, on account of sin, God "made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."404 (602)
Jesus did not experience reprobation as if he himself had sinned.405 But in the redeeming love that always united him to the Father, he assumed us in the state of our waywardness of sin, to the point that he could say in our name from the cross: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"406 Having thus established him in solidarity with us sinners, God "did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all", so that we might be "reconciled to God by the death of his Son".407 (603).
Also, Pope John Paul II expands upon this in his apostolic letter, Salvifici Doloris (1984):
…After the words in Gethsemane come the words uttered on Golgotha, words which bear witness to this depth—unique in the history of the world—of the evil of the suffering experienced. When Christ says: "My God, My God, why have you abandoned me?", his words are not only an expression of that abandonment which many times found expression in the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms and in particular in that Psalm 22 [21] from which come the words quoted(47). One can say that these words on abandonment are born at the level of that inseparable union of the Son with the Father, and are born because the Father "laid on him the iniquity of us all"(48). They also foreshadow the words of Saint Paul: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin"(49). Together with this horrible weight, encompassing the "entire" evil of the turning away from God which is contained in sin, Christ, through the divine depth of his filial union with the Father, perceives in a humanly inexpressible way this suffering which is the separation, the rejection by the Father, the estrangement from God. But precisely through this suffering he accomplishes the Redemption, and can say as he breathes his last: "It is finished"(50).
One can also say that the Scripture has been fulfilled, that these words of the Song of the Suffering Servant have been definitively accomplished: "it was the will of the Lord to bruise him"(51). Human suffering has reached its culmination in the Passion of Christ. And at the same time it has entered into a completely new dimension and a new order: it has been linked to love, to that love of which Christ spoke to Nicodemus, to that love which creates good, drawing it out by means of suffering, just as the supreme good of the Redemption of the world was drawn from the Cross of Christ, and from that Cross constantly takes its beginning. The Cross of Christ has become a source from which flow rivers of living water(52). In it we must also pose anew the question about the meaning of suffering, and read in it, to its very depths, the answer to this question.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Can't we just get the truth?
Yesterday’s Gospel (Jn 15:26-16:4a) is a timely passage:
“Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.
They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you."
There were a lot of words spoken on Sunday at Notre Dame’s graduation ceremony and the analysis that followed. I watched much of it, but could only take so many “words” (plus, there were sports on TV). To many of us, it was just words. Let’s not forget an important axiom: “Actions speak louder than words”. Our President spoke of reducing the number of abortions, and yet he has worked since the first week of his presidency to increase the number of abortions.
In the Gospel passage above, Jesus is telling his disciples that they will be persecuted for speaking the truth. They will be expelled by people who think they are doing the right thing – “offering worship to God”. I have no doubt that most of the Catholics who cheered and stood for Obama on Sunday (they even cheered his position on embryonic stem-cell research) think they are doing the right thing. They think they are offering worship to God in dismissing the truth about human life. Jesus makes it clear that they don’t know Truth: “they have not known either the Father or me”.
Ultimately, the blame for why “Notre Dame Catholics” are ignorant of Truth falls on those who are the primary teachers of Truth in the Church – bishops, priests, and parents. On one of the news networks yesterday, a priest erroneously presented the teachings of the Church – he suggested that the issue of war had the same moral weight as the issue of abortion. A non-Catholic corrected him! I imagine that many, many Catholics walked away from Sunday’s coverage confused about what the Church’s true position is on all this stuff. Can’t we just get the truth?
The truth is that abortion is evil. Direct abortion is wrong every time. President Obama knows that abortion is evil and concedes this whenever he says that we need to reduce the number of abortions. If he thought there was nothing wrong with abortion, then why would he say that it needs to be reduced?
The truth is that over 3,000 babies are aborted in the United States each day and well over 1,000,000 each year die to abortion. President Obama has aligned himself with the largest provider of abortions in the United States, Planned Parenthood. Is he aware that the vision of the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, was to use abortion to eliminate minorities? Almost 70% of abortion centers in the U.S. are in minority neighborhoods. The abortion movement in our country is more about power, money (it is a billion dollar industry), and discrimination than it is about a woman’s right to choose. Abortion is a holocaust and the greatest civil rights issue of our time. Has the truth about abortion reached the ears of Notre Dame Catholics?
Historically, God’s people have not consistently taught their children Truth – Truth about God, life, morals, etc. In the Old Testament, some generations of Israelites were ignorant about faith and morals because their leaders and parents didn’t teach them. We are seeing that today in our Church, especially in the United States. Many, many Catholics are ignorant about the sacraments, moral issues, Church history, the Church, and the Bible. We who are open to the Spirit of truth need to teach Truth more effectively and more boldly. Sunday’s expulsion of Truth at Notre Dame was an historic indication of that.
“Jesus said to his disciples:
"When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father,
the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father,
he will testify to me.
And you also testify,
because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I have told you this so that you may not fall away.
They will expel you from the synagogues;
in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you
will think he is offering worship to God.
They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.
I have told you this so that when their hour comes
you may remember that I told you."
There were a lot of words spoken on Sunday at Notre Dame’s graduation ceremony and the analysis that followed. I watched much of it, but could only take so many “words” (plus, there were sports on TV). To many of us, it was just words. Let’s not forget an important axiom: “Actions speak louder than words”. Our President spoke of reducing the number of abortions, and yet he has worked since the first week of his presidency to increase the number of abortions.
In the Gospel passage above, Jesus is telling his disciples that they will be persecuted for speaking the truth. They will be expelled by people who think they are doing the right thing – “offering worship to God”. I have no doubt that most of the Catholics who cheered and stood for Obama on Sunday (they even cheered his position on embryonic stem-cell research) think they are doing the right thing. They think they are offering worship to God in dismissing the truth about human life. Jesus makes it clear that they don’t know Truth: “they have not known either the Father or me”.
Ultimately, the blame for why “Notre Dame Catholics” are ignorant of Truth falls on those who are the primary teachers of Truth in the Church – bishops, priests, and parents. On one of the news networks yesterday, a priest erroneously presented the teachings of the Church – he suggested that the issue of war had the same moral weight as the issue of abortion. A non-Catholic corrected him! I imagine that many, many Catholics walked away from Sunday’s coverage confused about what the Church’s true position is on all this stuff. Can’t we just get the truth?
The truth is that abortion is evil. Direct abortion is wrong every time. President Obama knows that abortion is evil and concedes this whenever he says that we need to reduce the number of abortions. If he thought there was nothing wrong with abortion, then why would he say that it needs to be reduced?
The truth is that over 3,000 babies are aborted in the United States each day and well over 1,000,000 each year die to abortion. President Obama has aligned himself with the largest provider of abortions in the United States, Planned Parenthood. Is he aware that the vision of the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, was to use abortion to eliminate minorities? Almost 70% of abortion centers in the U.S. are in minority neighborhoods. The abortion movement in our country is more about power, money (it is a billion dollar industry), and discrimination than it is about a woman’s right to choose. Abortion is a holocaust and the greatest civil rights issue of our time. Has the truth about abortion reached the ears of Notre Dame Catholics?
Historically, God’s people have not consistently taught their children Truth – Truth about God, life, morals, etc. In the Old Testament, some generations of Israelites were ignorant about faith and morals because their leaders and parents didn’t teach them. We are seeing that today in our Church, especially in the United States. Many, many Catholics are ignorant about the sacraments, moral issues, Church history, the Church, and the Bible. We who are open to the Spirit of truth need to teach Truth more effectively and more boldly. Sunday’s expulsion of Truth at Notre Dame was an historic indication of that.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
6th Sunday of Easter
The following is a homily for today from homily.net.
Homily from Father James Gilhooley 6 Easter
Sixth Sunday of Easter - Cycle B - John 15:9-16
In 1941, the German army began to round up Jewish people in Lithuania. Thousands of Jews were murdered. But one German soldier objected to their murder. He was Sergeant Anton Schmid. Through his assistance, at least 250 Jews were spared their lives. He managed to hide them, find food, and supply them with forged papers. Schmid himself was arrested in early 1942 for saving these lives. He was tried and executed in 1942.
It took Germany almost sixty years to honor the memory of this man Schmid. Said Germany's Defense Minister in 2000 in saluting him, "Too many bowed to the threats and temptations of the dictator Hitler, and too few found the strength to resist. But Sergeant Anton Schmid did resist."
Name a person who better obeyed the admonition of the Christ in today's Gospel. "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." The hero Schmid went beyond what even Jesus encouraged. He laid down his life for strangers.
What a welcome the court-martialed Anton Schmid must have received from Our Lord when he entered the Kingdom.
Being a Christian requires all the character we can summon up. However, in the face of people such as Sergeant Schmid, we should not grow weary and give up the quest. When our Master returned to His Father, he sent to us the Holy Spirit. It is He who increases the spiritual marrow in our Christian backbones. It is He who empowers us to stand up and be counted as Christ followers. As one pundit says, "What Jesus accomplished for us in His lifetime, the Holy Spirit accomplishes in ours."
With the Spirit, we can face the might of hell and win.
William Barclay suggests the Teacher has chosen each one of us to be advertisements for Himself. Our lives should be billboards for Christ. He is most anxious that we produce abundant good works. The only authentic method of spreading the Gospel message is to be oneself a genuine Christian. History proves we waste our time arguing or forcing other people into becoming Christians. They do not want to hear about Christianity. They want to see it work. Our lives must attract them to the truth of the Gospel.
It was Socrates who told us that the greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.
When the Catholic Al Smith, later four time Governor of New York, was a member of the New York State Assembly in the 1920s, he roomed with a fellow Assemblyman, Robert Wagner, in the state capital. Wagner, who was later to be a distinguished member of the US Senate, became a convert to the Church. He was asked what prompted his conversion. He replied simply, "Watching Al Smith get down on his knees every night to say his prayers."
Like Smith, each of us is an ambassador with portfolio for Christ. Oftentimes, we are completely unaware of the role we are playing. But the non-Christians watching us do not forget that we follow Christ. Frequently we disappoint them. Said one agnostic, "I expected nothing and he did not disappoint me." You have tried many times to be a Christian only to fall on your face. Do not grow tired.
Reflect, as an historian tells us, that the first electric bulb was so faint that a lit candle had to be used along with it. Thirty-two hours were initially required to make the trip by steamboat from Albany to New York - a trip of but 150 miles. The initial flight of the Wright brothers in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina lasted but 12 seconds. The top speed of the first car was anywhere from two to four miles each hour. We know what those inventions can do today.
Remember the aphorism that God makes a great finish out of a slow start and nothing can be done until we take the first step. Be patient. It takes an oak fifty years to produce an acorn.
Once you have begun to make progress, speak that prayer of the old man: "Lord, I am not yet what I would like to be. But thank you, Lord, because I ain't no longer what I used to be."
Jesus gave up His life for our sins. We must give up ourselves for His service.
Finally one person can make a difference. If you have any doubt on that point, check it out with any of the 250 people whose lives Sergeant Anton Schmid saved.
Homily from Father James Gilhooley 6 Easter
Sixth Sunday of Easter - Cycle B - John 15:9-16
In 1941, the German army began to round up Jewish people in Lithuania. Thousands of Jews were murdered. But one German soldier objected to their murder. He was Sergeant Anton Schmid. Through his assistance, at least 250 Jews were spared their lives. He managed to hide them, find food, and supply them with forged papers. Schmid himself was arrested in early 1942 for saving these lives. He was tried and executed in 1942.
It took Germany almost sixty years to honor the memory of this man Schmid. Said Germany's Defense Minister in 2000 in saluting him, "Too many bowed to the threats and temptations of the dictator Hitler, and too few found the strength to resist. But Sergeant Anton Schmid did resist."
Name a person who better obeyed the admonition of the Christ in today's Gospel. "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." The hero Schmid went beyond what even Jesus encouraged. He laid down his life for strangers.
What a welcome the court-martialed Anton Schmid must have received from Our Lord when he entered the Kingdom.
Being a Christian requires all the character we can summon up. However, in the face of people such as Sergeant Schmid, we should not grow weary and give up the quest. When our Master returned to His Father, he sent to us the Holy Spirit. It is He who increases the spiritual marrow in our Christian backbones. It is He who empowers us to stand up and be counted as Christ followers. As one pundit says, "What Jesus accomplished for us in His lifetime, the Holy Spirit accomplishes in ours."
With the Spirit, we can face the might of hell and win.
William Barclay suggests the Teacher has chosen each one of us to be advertisements for Himself. Our lives should be billboards for Christ. He is most anxious that we produce abundant good works. The only authentic method of spreading the Gospel message is to be oneself a genuine Christian. History proves we waste our time arguing or forcing other people into becoming Christians. They do not want to hear about Christianity. They want to see it work. Our lives must attract them to the truth of the Gospel.
It was Socrates who told us that the greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.
When the Catholic Al Smith, later four time Governor of New York, was a member of the New York State Assembly in the 1920s, he roomed with a fellow Assemblyman, Robert Wagner, in the state capital. Wagner, who was later to be a distinguished member of the US Senate, became a convert to the Church. He was asked what prompted his conversion. He replied simply, "Watching Al Smith get down on his knees every night to say his prayers."
Like Smith, each of us is an ambassador with portfolio for Christ. Oftentimes, we are completely unaware of the role we are playing. But the non-Christians watching us do not forget that we follow Christ. Frequently we disappoint them. Said one agnostic, "I expected nothing and he did not disappoint me." You have tried many times to be a Christian only to fall on your face. Do not grow tired.
Reflect, as an historian tells us, that the first electric bulb was so faint that a lit candle had to be used along with it. Thirty-two hours were initially required to make the trip by steamboat from Albany to New York - a trip of but 150 miles. The initial flight of the Wright brothers in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina lasted but 12 seconds. The top speed of the first car was anywhere from two to four miles each hour. We know what those inventions can do today.
Remember the aphorism that God makes a great finish out of a slow start and nothing can be done until we take the first step. Be patient. It takes an oak fifty years to produce an acorn.
Once you have begun to make progress, speak that prayer of the old man: "Lord, I am not yet what I would like to be. But thank you, Lord, because I ain't no longer what I used to be."
Jesus gave up His life for our sins. We must give up ourselves for His service.
Finally one person can make a difference. If you have any doubt on that point, check it out with any of the 250 people whose lives Sergeant Anton Schmid saved.
Friday, May 15, 2009
The Christian in the world
Eucharistic Adoration, tonight, 7-8 pm, SAA Church. All are invited!!
---------------------------
The following is a brilliant reflection from Wednesday’s Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours. While it is an ancient letter to Diognetus, it applies to all times, especially our modern age as shown by recent events (e.g., Miss California), movies (e.g., “Angels and Demons”), media publications, etc.
“Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language, or customs. They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life. Their teaching is not based on reveries inspired by the curiosity of men. Unlike some other people, they champion no purely human doctrine. With regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in, whether it is Greek or foreign.
And yet there is something extraordinary about their lives. They live in their own countries as though they were only passing through. They play their full role as citizens, but labor under all the disabilities of aliens. Any country can be their homeland, but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country. Like others, they marry and have children, but they do not expose them. They share their meals, but not their wives. They live in the flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh. They pass their days upon earth, but they are citizens of heaven. Obedient to the laws, they yet live on a level that transcends the law.
Christians love all men, but all men persecute them. Condemned because they are not understood, they are put to death, but raised to life again. They live in poverty, but enrich many; they are totally destitute, but possess an abundance of everything. They suffer dishonor, but that is their glory. They are defamed, but vindicated. A blessing is their answer to abuse, deference their response to insult. For the good they do they receive the punishment of malefactors, but even then they rejoice, as though receiving the gift of life. They are attacked by Jews as aliens, they are persecuted by the Greeks, yet no one can explain the reason for this hatred.
To speak in general terms, we may say that the Christian is to the world what the soul is to the body. As the soul is present in every part of the body, while remaining distinct from it, so Christians are found in all the cities of the world, but cannot be identified with the world. As the visible body contains the invisible soul, so Christians are seen living in the world, but their religious life remains unseen. The body hates the soul and wars against it, not because of any injury the soul has done it, but because of the restriction the soul places on its pleasures. Similarly, the world hates the Christians, not because they have done it any wrong, but because they are opposed to its enjoyments.
Christians love those who hate them just as the soul loves the body and all its members despite the body’s hatred. It is by the soul, enclosed within the body, that the body is held together, and similarly, it is by the Christians, detained in the world as in a prison, that the world is held together. The soul, though immortal, has a mortal dwelling place; and Christians also live for a time amidst perishable things, while awaiting the freedom from change and decay that will be theirs in heaven. As the soul benefits from the deprivation of food and drink, so Christians flourish under persecution. Such is the Christian’s lofty and divinely appointed function, from which he is not permitted to excuse himself.”
---------------------------
The following is a brilliant reflection from Wednesday’s Office of Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours. While it is an ancient letter to Diognetus, it applies to all times, especially our modern age as shown by recent events (e.g., Miss California), movies (e.g., “Angels and Demons”), media publications, etc.
“Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language, or customs. They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life. Their teaching is not based on reveries inspired by the curiosity of men. Unlike some other people, they champion no purely human doctrine. With regard to dress, food and manner of life in general, they follow the customs of whatever city they happen to be living in, whether it is Greek or foreign.
And yet there is something extraordinary about their lives. They live in their own countries as though they were only passing through. They play their full role as citizens, but labor under all the disabilities of aliens. Any country can be their homeland, but for them their homeland, wherever it may be, is a foreign country. Like others, they marry and have children, but they do not expose them. They share their meals, but not their wives. They live in the flesh, but they are not governed by the desires of the flesh. They pass their days upon earth, but they are citizens of heaven. Obedient to the laws, they yet live on a level that transcends the law.
Christians love all men, but all men persecute them. Condemned because they are not understood, they are put to death, but raised to life again. They live in poverty, but enrich many; they are totally destitute, but possess an abundance of everything. They suffer dishonor, but that is their glory. They are defamed, but vindicated. A blessing is their answer to abuse, deference their response to insult. For the good they do they receive the punishment of malefactors, but even then they rejoice, as though receiving the gift of life. They are attacked by Jews as aliens, they are persecuted by the Greeks, yet no one can explain the reason for this hatred.
To speak in general terms, we may say that the Christian is to the world what the soul is to the body. As the soul is present in every part of the body, while remaining distinct from it, so Christians are found in all the cities of the world, but cannot be identified with the world. As the visible body contains the invisible soul, so Christians are seen living in the world, but their religious life remains unseen. The body hates the soul and wars against it, not because of any injury the soul has done it, but because of the restriction the soul places on its pleasures. Similarly, the world hates the Christians, not because they have done it any wrong, but because they are opposed to its enjoyments.
Christians love those who hate them just as the soul loves the body and all its members despite the body’s hatred. It is by the soul, enclosed within the body, that the body is held together, and similarly, it is by the Christians, detained in the world as in a prison, that the world is held together. The soul, though immortal, has a mortal dwelling place; and Christians also live for a time amidst perishable things, while awaiting the freedom from change and decay that will be theirs in heaven. As the soul benefits from the deprivation of food and drink, so Christians flourish under persecution. Such is the Christian’s lofty and divinely appointed function, from which he is not permitted to excuse himself.”
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
God is good!
Anon asked the following questions: “When it is said that ‘sin separates us from God,’ what does that mean? I’m perplexed with this idea. If I am full of sin, sin not confessed- maybe even sin for which we are unrepentant, does it mean God isn't with us? I don't understand the concept. Please explain.”
Let’s first look at the definition of sin found in the Catechism: “Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as ‘an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law’” (#1849). Sin and evil are privations of goodness; they are a lack of good. There is no good in sin or evil. When we choose to sin and enter into evil, then, we choose to be where there is no good.
I often like to add an “o” to God’s name: God is good! If we substitute God for good, then we can say that when we choose to sin, we choose to be where there is no God. Our faith tells us this: God exists in all things but sin. He exists is what’s good. Everything that comes from Him is good and everything that is good is from Him. Sin is a lack of good; it is like the hole of a donut. The donut represents “the good”; the hole represents “sin”. The hole exists (i.e., it is real), but there is no donut there. It is a lack of donut. In the same way, sin exists, but there is not good there. It is a lack of good. It is a lack of God.
Now, it is important to make the distinction between mortal sin and venial sin. “Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. The distinction between mortal and venial sin, already evident in Scripture,(cf. 1 Jn 5:16-17) became part of the tradition of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience. Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him. Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it” (CCC, #1854-55). So, in this post, our discussion of sin (including the donut analogy) is mainly referring to mortal sin. When we choose to commit mortal sin, we choose to separate ourselves from God.
It might help us to understand all of this better by focusing on love (charity). We see how the Church focuses on charity in presenting the effects of sin: “sin…is a failure in genuine love for God and neighbor…mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man”. As Pope Benedict reminded us in his first encyclical, God is love. If we say that when we sin, we separate ourselves from God, then we can also say that when we sin we separate ourselves from love. This will probably make the point as much as anything because we have all had the experience of separating ourselves from those we love when we have offended them. This doesn’t just mean a physical separation, although if it is serious enough, it can bring that. It means a personal separation; a separation of hearts.
In my ministry, I encounter different kinds of personal separation due to sin on a daily basis (except on most Thursdays, my day off, when the usual separation I deal with is my golf ball from the hole…it’s normally a long one). Spouses separate themselves from each other because of anger or lust, siblings separate themselves from each other because of pride, kids separate themselves from parents because of disobedience, friends separate themselves from each other because of gossip, etc. If the initial separation is not repaired through reconciliation, then hearts grow further and further from each other. This is why I am in the “reconciliation business” – to repair the damage that sin does in our relationship with God and others.
Let’s first look at the definition of sin found in the Catechism: “Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as ‘an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law’” (#1849). Sin and evil are privations of goodness; they are a lack of good. There is no good in sin or evil. When we choose to sin and enter into evil, then, we choose to be where there is no good.
I often like to add an “o” to God’s name: God is good! If we substitute God for good, then we can say that when we choose to sin, we choose to be where there is no God. Our faith tells us this: God exists in all things but sin. He exists is what’s good. Everything that comes from Him is good and everything that is good is from Him. Sin is a lack of good; it is like the hole of a donut. The donut represents “the good”; the hole represents “sin”. The hole exists (i.e., it is real), but there is no donut there. It is a lack of donut. In the same way, sin exists, but there is not good there. It is a lack of good. It is a lack of God.
Now, it is important to make the distinction between mortal sin and venial sin. “Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. The distinction between mortal and venial sin, already evident in Scripture,(cf. 1 Jn 5:16-17) became part of the tradition of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience. Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him. Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it” (CCC, #1854-55). So, in this post, our discussion of sin (including the donut analogy) is mainly referring to mortal sin. When we choose to commit mortal sin, we choose to separate ourselves from God.
It might help us to understand all of this better by focusing on love (charity). We see how the Church focuses on charity in presenting the effects of sin: “sin…is a failure in genuine love for God and neighbor…mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man”. As Pope Benedict reminded us in his first encyclical, God is love. If we say that when we sin, we separate ourselves from God, then we can also say that when we sin we separate ourselves from love. This will probably make the point as much as anything because we have all had the experience of separating ourselves from those we love when we have offended them. This doesn’t just mean a physical separation, although if it is serious enough, it can bring that. It means a personal separation; a separation of hearts.
In my ministry, I encounter different kinds of personal separation due to sin on a daily basis (except on most Thursdays, my day off, when the usual separation I deal with is my golf ball from the hole…it’s normally a long one). Spouses separate themselves from each other because of anger or lust, siblings separate themselves from each other because of pride, kids separate themselves from parents because of disobedience, friends separate themselves from each other because of gossip, etc. If the initial separation is not repaired through reconciliation, then hearts grow further and further from each other. This is why I am in the “reconciliation business” – to repair the damage that sin does in our relationship with God and others.
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